Born for This
by Cytisus
Summary: Being a teenage hero is one thing, but a teenage hero with a genius child tagalong? West Side Island and its zones are in danger from a mad doctor bent on world domination, but this time the fabled hero from South Island may have to accept the help of a unique fox capable of outwitting the evil doctor. A loose Sonic 2 Genesis adaptation.
1. Prologue

Preface: Sonic 2 adaptation with a few flow changes and a lot of embellishments from the newer games and television shows that have come about. Since it's an origin story, the overall arch will focus on Sonic and Tails' relationship development.

Because of that, expect a wee bit OOC from the two. In my mind there's a lot of feats for them to overcome to become the classic duo they are today.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

_South Island_

* * *

The factory had fallen to pieces around him, much like a house of cards facing the inevitable wrath of a nearby breeze. The blue hedgehog quickly stowed the Chaos Emeralds in his quills, freeing his arms to assist in balancing and—occasionally—pushing off the crumbling debris raining down all around him.

The mad doctor had escaped, but his entire base was going under, and he could no longer utilize the power of these gemstones for his bidding.

Even if the hedgehog wasn't entirely sure how they were used in the first place.

There was an undeniable surge of _something_ in his veins when he was near the jewels, though. He felt like a magnet to their pull, and it was honestly the only reason he was able to find them at all before the doctor had gotten his chance at them.

Regardless, that power was still limited. Maybe it made him run faster. Maybe it made him feel stronger.

Or maybe the adrenaline was simply doing its job.

Without the emeralds, he was still fast. Faster than any Mobian he'd ever met, and faster than most contraptions meant for travel. Given enough of a runway, energy, and circumstance, he could be faster than sound.

Right now he was not fast. Of anyone else he had the best chance of escaping this doomed factory, but with the world beneath his feet shifting and the things above him toppling, he was slow. Too slow.

A particularly large piece of manufacturing equipment—a conveyor belt?—began to tilt towards the hedgehog, and he grimaced at its proximity, instinctively speeding up and pushing through.

Just as he blew through the door he felt the contraption explode onto the ground where he had been milliseconds ago. Dwelling was not an option, however, and he quickly returned his attention to the obstacles in front of him. How the crazy doctor had gotten away was a wonder: maybe his own attempted escape spectacularly failed and he was now buried beneath his evil inventions, justice serving its own taste of karma.

Eyes scouting ahead, the hedgehog acted before words could even form in his head. He looked like he was somersaulting for a moment, and then rolled into himself so his pointy quills became erect, sharp, _spinning_ blades. His velocity maintained, but now he was like a loose circular saw, tearing through the last of the wall blocking him from the outside world.

Wood splintered, metal cracked, and with only a few seconds of slowdown the hedgehog had spindashed his way through the last of the mad doctor's factory. He blasted through the building, uncurling himself and continuing to run out into the open world beyond, an inadvertent sigh escaping his mouth.

He traversed the robotisized city, briefly wondering if villages once stood in their place. No sentient beings remained, however; this entire island was only home to small feral creatures and, while the doctor had imprisoned them inside his machines, it wasn't very clear how he was using them, or if he had used sapients in the past...

It was a morose thought. The hedgehog wasn't exactly a history buff, but he did vaguely recall that South Island was uninhabitable for Mobians; something about the island constantly moving, making trade in and out virtually impossible.

He hoped that remained true, as what was left of the island seemed to be only the mad doctor's robotic creations, manufacturing plants, and factories making nothing but smog and pollution on the once tropical paradise.

Green Hill, on the other side of the island, seemed to be the only true part of the zones that withstood industrialization. Even so, it was obvious that the pollution had begun to wilt the world there, as well.

As the hedgehog exited the doctor's lone empire, as the muddy ground turned to rolling grass hills and the metal debris gave way to trees, he began to feel a quiver, almost like a low hum, inside his quills.

His run slowed to a stop. He pulled the six Chaos Emeralds out of his quills and into his hands, feeling them vibrate beneath his fingers.

They glowed; no, _pulsated_, and the hedgehog stood still, mesmerized by their beauty and power.

Power. He felt that same feeling in his veins intensify, and for one brief moment he channeled the emeralds. Their energy coursed outward and he had found the wavelength, was part of it, melded with it—

He gasped, and before he knew it the gemstones floated on their own accord. He wanted to reach out for them, to grab them and pull them back, but they told him not to.

They _told_ him, and he was stupefied because obviously jewels don't talk. But these did, in his mind, not with words but with emotions, and he watched with dumbstruck awe as they circled above him. Their pulsations grew stronger and suddenly became beacons of light, turning everything white; so blindingly _white_.

A wash of energy as pure and good as what the hedgehog imagined some equivalent of heaven to be soothed his tired muscles, erasing the pain from cuts and bruises and wounds from the intense battle mere minutes ago.

It filled the blue speedster with a calmness he hadn't felt in ages.

And then it was gone.

His eyes blinked open and sunlight—real sunlight—filtered through the clouds above. The surrounding silence was replaced with trees rustling in the oceanside breeze. The Chaos Emeralds were gone, but so was the smog.

The dark smoke of pollutants had dissipated. The wilting trees and flowers were thriving and beautiful, and the smell of the air was salty and mossy, as it should be.

The hedgehog absently rubbed his arm and looked down. His fur was clean: no grime, no dirt, and no blood.

No cuts or gashes, no bruises. He was healed.

He looked back up and noticed feral animals out and about. They approached him bravely, fully aware of who he was, and what he had done.

A part of him knew what he had to do, as well. The mad doctor could never get his hands on the Chaos Emeralds. The power he had felt was teeming, and words could not describe how that energy could so easily mold into something much more fierce and menacing, if someone with ill will had possession of them.

A quieter part of his thoughts reminded him that the Chaos Emeralds spoke to him on that shared wavelength. They knew he could harness their power. They knew there were more encounters in store.

It was terrifying and amazing and subduing all at once.

But as the wind picked up and the waves crashed along the nearby shore; as the feral creatures flitted about happily and the stunned hedgehog continued to stand still, he could only find one apt word for everything that had transpired:

"_Chaos,_" he breathed out.

* * *

_One year later_

* * *

The biplane hummed crankily.

Its pilot raised an eye ridge at it, but shook off the implications with ease. He had been flying for some time now, and the next island wasn't too far ahead, if he had managed to navigate himself successfully.

As someone who could run faster than the speed of sound, it was odd sitting in a relatively slow plane. But a quick look at the pristine blue below reminded him that, while he was a great runner, he horribly lacked in the swimming department.

The cool spring breeze was a nice change of pace from the long winter he had muddled through, and he hoped the island ahead provided the change of scenery he longed for.

The last year had been a roller coaster to his life, and while his mission was still the foundation of this journey, he wouldn't mind a little R&R mixed in. From his research West Side Island was relatively low in populace and, with any luck, the inhabitants would not be too aware of the famous blue hedgehog that had defeated Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

South Island seemed like an eon ago. While Mobians hadn't lived on the traveling island for some time, it was still exploited for fish, minerals, and produce. Robotnik's takeover of its rich resources had put him on many nations' radars well before the hedgehog came along.

So when news spread of the doctor's defeat by a lone warrior, the speedster was turned into an unwilling hero.

Granted, money seemed to come with ease with the new reputation, and because of it he never went without a full belly and soft place to sleep at night (if he so inclined). Of course, that also came with constant attention and adoration that became synonymous with accosting in his eyes, and in the end the blue hedgehog valued his freedom more than anything else.

A jolt of turbulence and sputtering lodged said hedgehog out of his daydreaming and he grabbed a hold of the yoke quickly when the plane decided to veer left on its own accord.

"What—"

The pilot couldn't even finish his exclamation of surprise before the plane hiccupped again, dark smoke leaking through the casing surrounding the engine. With another stomach-churning shudder, his sole mode of transportation divebombed downwards.


	2. Emerald Hill

_West Side Island_

* * *

His dirty fingers trembled as they picked up the pieces of metal and plastic off the forest floor. The scenery around him was quiet, a familiar lack of sound that would soon be followed by stormy weather. The feral animals of the woodlands always knew when to take shelter, the tiny fox had quickly learned.

A few minutes ago it had been much more boisterous, however. Children older than him—true islanders—had found him working, and had immediately made a mockery of his newest invention.

They loved to hate him, and the little fox had stopped asking himself why a long time ago. He avoided them as best he could, as well as most the adults in the village; he'd only venture into their territory to scavenge for food or spare parts.

Unfortunately, the younger ones had found the harassment entertaining enough to seek the small kit out when they were bored.

This had been one of those times.

His fingers were so shaky that a couple of the pieces he picked up were instantly dropped again. A combination of hunger, adrenaline, and injury made his body a vibrating mess of nerves, and he realized that it would soon be time to head back to the village for sustenance.

The past winter had been harsh on the island and, while it was springtime, a lot of the berries were late to bloom and thrive. He needed to find food, and fast.

Once the remains of his invention had been properly gathered in his arms, the child quietly began the mile trek back to his home, keenly aware of the darkening clouds up above.

A faint sonic boom echoed throughout the forest, causing the child's large ears to twitch curiously. He glanced around as he felt the wind shift, but after a few moments of silence, he mentally shrugged and continued on his way.

An approaching sound, almost like a chainsaw, caused the fox's fur to stand on end. He jumped behind a bush and burrowed into himself, hugging the parts of his machine tightly to his body.

As soon as he'd made himself scarce, a billow of wind, dirt, and leaves shot up from the forest floor, a blur of blue pushing it in every direction. The kit's eyes widened in fascination as the scene swiftly returned to normal, the leaves gliding in the air as the only indication that something had ever gone amiss.

He jumped out of his bush, inquisitiveness making him momentarily courageous. But a rumbling sound in the sky quelled his bravery and the fox's ears instantly went flat against his head. The speeding blur had been heading towards the beach, but the child's home was towards the cliffside. He took one last—almost longing—breath as his gaze trailed the pathway to the ocean, before finally jogging in the other direction.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful, aside from the drizzle of rain and constant roar of thunder becoming louder and louder. The small fox whimpered involuntarily as he entered his home, a small cave hidden behind thorny shrubbery. It was situated relatively high on the mountainside, and its hard-to-spot entrance made it a safe haven from unwanted passersby.

It was not deep, but it served as a retreat and sheltered him from weather well enough. Scavenging for over three seasons had proved fruitful, too: multiple trinkets and gadgets were scattered about, as well as a makeshift bed and a multitude of books on mechanics, engineering, physics, and fantasy.

The books had been the luckiest find: most didn't throw them away unless they had been damaged beyond legibility. Thankfully, many considered a book with water damage unreadable. While the hardcovers and pages were warped—and a few pages harder to read from smeared ink—the plethora of knowledge was as beautiful as a sparkling jewel to the kit.

The local library in the next village over, however, didn't feel the same way when they had flooded last year.

The drizzle outside became louder, followed by a flash of light that caused the fox to jump in fear. His cave had been dark when he had first found it last summer, but it hadn't taken the kit long to build a solar-powered lantern. He had made a habit of setting it outside when he left and bringing it in with him when he returned. Currently, he took his small lamp and made a beeline for his mess of ratty blankets that served as a bed. He had rigged a mattress out of some old cardboard, foam, and egg crates, which—despite its rather pathetic appearance—was quite comfortable.

He set the lamp down and turned it on, keeping it close as he wrapped himself in his blankets protectively. The storms on the island were fierce during the spring, but they were thankfully short-lived. He couldn't stop shivering, though, and kept his gaze dutifully on the lantern, trying his best to tune out the barrage of flashes that would light up the walls of his home.

Eventually the fear gave way to exhaustion, and the small fox began to feel the tenderness around his eye pulsate with his heartbeat. A blackeye was the least of his concerns, but the swelling always worried him. He had only had an infection once before, but the memory of the pain and fever were fresh in his mind.

It was one of the few times he had been forced to steal, as the local pharmacy would have never given him the antibiotics he needed. Most of the islanders thought he was a curse, or some kind of bad omen, and usually preferred to ignore his existence more than anything.

The fox's eyelids became heavy, and eventually his body fell into a fitful rest, his thoughts occasionally going back to the speeding blur and the beach.

* * *

Hours later, the kit had awoken from his impromptu nap, and was thankful to see sunlight rays scattering across the cave's floor. He sat up and turned off his lamp, bringing it outside to recharge for the evening.

He had already planned to visit the beach, just to see if he could catch another glimpse of whatever it was that had passed him in the blink of an eye. His hope was that it was some sort of machine, or an invention of someone's, that could be observed and studied for his own projects.

After all, something with that kind of speed would surely be sellable, and could be exactly what he needed to get away from West Side.

Half an hour later, the small fox carefully walked towards the edge of the tree line, the ocean's constant hum signaling the end of the forest. His search for the fast blur stopped abruptly, however, upon seeing the small biplane in the sand. His eyes widened in awe and the vulpine cautiously stepped towards the plane, watching his surroundings in his peripheral vision.

The plane had been parked a little haphazardously upon the beach, and further inspection concluded that the pilot had crash landed in the remote area. A small campsite had been set up next to the plane, so it was likely the pilot was not far away, or would be back shortly.

His fascination won over his fear, however, and the fox popped open a side panel to see the mechanics of the biplane. While flying had always been a fascination of his, he had never really had the opportunity to see something of this magnitude up close. To say he was excited was an understatement.

His inspection of the plane allowed him to easily see what was wrong, but he had no tools or spare parts to repair it. Quietly closing the panel, the fox wasted no time in returning to the safety of the woods. Rather than heading home, the fox opted to stay close to the border and eventually found his way up into a tree, providing himself a better vantage point of the campsite. There were not many travelers to this side of the island, and the kit was interested to see if they might be the inventor of the speedy contraption that had made its presence known a few hours ago.

His patience was not in vain: after an hour of waiting, a distant sonic boom erupted, and the fox tensed in anticipation as it saw the blur approach from the north side of the beach. An eruption of sand provided the trail to follow, and the child held his breath as the speeding blur practically teleported to the campsite.

When it stopped, the kit's eyes widened in realization. The speeding blue blur was not a thing, but an actual Mobian.

A hedgehog, to be more precise.

At his campsite, the hedgehog had brought with him a rather sizeable paper bag. He set it down and began to kindle a fire, unaware of the pair of eyes watching him intently.

Once the fire was started, the hedgehog returned to the paper bag and sat down with his back to a log. He pulled out some of the bag's contents—a hot dog!—and began eating with vigor.

The fox couldn't help but drool at seeing the food. The smell eventually wafted to his location and he inhaled deeply to take in every bit of its aroma. When his eyes opened, the hedgehog had already pulled out a second hot dog, and the vulpine easily concluded what the entire contents of the paper bag consisted of.

As much as he was curious about the hedgehog, his stomach couldn't handle the smell of food without actually partaking. He quietly returned to the forest floor and made his way back to the village for some scavenging.

* * *

After a rather uneventful venture into town, with an even less than successful scavenge for remnants of edible food, a barely-satiated fox had returned home and slept restlessly for the remainder of the night.

He was excited about his plans for the next day, though, and hoped more than anything that he'd be able to accomplish them without being seen.

The sun's rays had barely reached the sand by the time the little fox returned, settling himself back on a tall branch overlooking the hedgehog's campsite. As predicted, the hedgehog in question was still snoozing away in a sleeping bag next to an extinguished campfire.

With a small tool bag in tow, the kit situated himself comfortably within the confines of the tree and simply waited for a prime opportunity.

Unfortunately, he began to realize after a couple of hours that the hedgehog must've been a night owl. The sun was blazing high in the sky and baking the landscape by the time he stirred, with the fox quietly panting from sitting in the heavy foliage.

Once awake, the hedgehog went over to his plane and popped a panel, inspecting the inside of the flying contraption. The kit held his breath, fervently wishing that the speedy blue Mobian would not be able to complete the repairs. He wanted a chance to tinker with the mechanics at least once before the traveler left!

There was an eventual growl, followed by the hedgehog angrily kicking the side of the biplane. The fox watched curiously as the hedgehog jumped a little from his foot making contact with the hard metal. He cursed and closed the panel back up with a lot more force than necessary.

"I would of course crash in a town with no mechanic," the hedgehog grumbled. He stretched, pushing his hands against his lower sides to bend back slightly. "Ah well, at least they got some awesome chili dogs."

The fox blinked and with a boom the hedgehog was gone. The small kit waited a few seconds before lowering himself to the ground, the wind from the blue blur's quick departure still kicking up sand in the immediate area.

He took a hesitant step forward, out of the protection of the trees. Once the silence seemed to linger long enough, he darted over to the plane with his tool bag gripped tightly in his hands.

* * *

Hours had passed and the sun was already making its way back down under the horizon when a distant sonic boom alerted the fox of the traveler's return home. He hurriedly closed the panel and pulled himself away, grabbing his bag and a few tools that were scattered on the ground before darting back to the trees.

He barely made it into the foliage before the sand kicked up and a blue hedgehog stood in the center of the campsite. His speed and agility told the kit to stay perfectly still, rather than try and hide further within the blanket of forest.

The vulpine's instincts were accurate, as the hedgehog remained standing tensely after his arrival, looking around carefully to inspect the area. He had felt something was amiss.

His eyes wandered over to the forest wall, and the fox swore they made eye contact as he searched the perimeter. However, the dark shade—combined with the setting sun—made the hedgehog glaze over the child's position.

Without moving, the fox was well hidden within the vegetation.

Eventually, the hedgehog nonchalantly shrugged and sat back against a log, similar to his position the previous night, before the fox had left. And, once again, the speedy Mobian pulled out a brown paper bag of what the kit now more accurately noticed were chili dogs.

With the hedgehog's obvious loss of interest to his surroundings, the fox was able to pull himself back up into a tree, carefully keeping an eye on the traveler in case he took notice of the odd rustling of leaves.

The smell was painful to the kit's empty stomach, but he did not want to leave tonight. He had made substantial progress in mending the plane, and—if the hedgehog left for the same amount of time tomorrow—he could complete the repairs and give the hedgehog a way off the island.

He had no idea why he wanted to help him. The fox had at first thought it was self-motivated; after all, he had never had a chance to work with such complex machinery. But he could have just played around with the mechanics of the biplane, rather than repair the damages and optimize its engineering capabilities.

The hedgehog had no idea the fox existed, but the fox's highly imaginative mind had already decided the speedy blue blur was his friend. When you lived in a world where no one wanted you to be there, it was almost cathartic to create imaginary friendships with those who didn't even know you existed.

And to have a friend with a unique ability like the hedgehog's made his own gifts seem less ostracized and more accepting. After all, if someone that can run at the speed of sound can be considered likeable, surely he could be likeable, too?

The reality was too disheartening for the fox to consider, so he opted to focus on the simple idea of helping this stranger. They would never meet, and the hedgehog would never know how his plane got fixed, but it would give the fox happy thoughts to think about during his lonely nights.

Exhaustion crept up fast on the fox, as it usually did when he could not eat regularly. He closed his eyes, one of his arms hugging the branch tightly, the other holding his tool bag to his chest.

* * *

When the hedgehog left the next day, the little fox was quick to approach the plane and begin his work. About ten minutes into it, though, a faint smell wafted to his nose and he glanced over to the campsite.

The brown paper bag was still there.

His nose twitched and, glancing around, the kit walked up to the bag to see if he could see inside without touching it. Sure enough, inside were two uneaten chili dogs, the heat from them long gone but still plenty edible, at least to the fox's eyes.

He hesitated. He was trying to help this hedgehog and now he was about to steal his food. The vulpine glanced up nervously, afraid that this was a trick; that the hedgehog was waiting to catch him in the act, to punish him as the bullies had done before.

But the beach was quiet, with only the sound of waves calmly crashing against the shoreline.

Hunger won out. The kit reached into the bag and pulled out a chili dog, inhaling the treat so fast he barely had time to register the spiciness of it.

He reached into the bag for the other hot dog but stopped himself. The food he had just eaten was more than enough to get him through the day. He didn't need to be greedy.

It took sheer willpower to pull his hand away, and after a few more hesitant moments, the fox returned back to the task at hand, his stomach growling in protest even while digesting the first taste of protein he'd had in weeks.

* * *

When the hedgehog returned, the fox had already made his way back up into the cover of a nearby tree. The repairs had been easy enough, and the extra work he put into the engine would hopefully prevent the same issue from occurring again.

Working on the plane had brought so many ideas to the fox's mind. Maybe, in time, he could even build his own plane and get off this island once and for all. He could find someplace far away, rural and beautiful and peaceful.

No one could hate him there.

The hedgehog did not stop and observe his surroundings like he did the night before. However, he seemed almost perplexed at the uneaten chili dog in the brown paper bag.

He didn't look around, nor did he say anything. Perhaps he had forgotten he had leftovers from the night before.

Either way, he'd brought with him a fresh bag of the tasty treats, and the fox could handle the smell a lot better now that he had been able to satiate some of his own hunger.

A part of him did wonder what the food tasted like when it was actually warm, though.

As the traveler and the fox settled down for the evening, the fox was nearly giddy with excitement at the thought of the hedgehog realizing his plane was fixed. He wondered briefly if he should retreat back to his home before the morning, in case the speedy blue blur decided to search the forest for his secret helper.

But the child wanted to see the expression on the hedgehog's face. He wanted to watch the traveler take off in the plane and disappear beyond the horizon. He wanted to know that he had made someone else's life better.

* * *

When the fox awoke the next morning, the hedgehog was gone. He startled slightly and nearly lost his balance on the branch. Steadying himself, he breathed out a sigh when he saw that the biplane was still there, gleaming red in the morning rays.

His body was feeling cramped from hugging the branch overnight, so he slowly brought himself back down to the forest floor. Peering out towards the campsite, the fox's ears twitched in anticipation as they listened for any signs of the hedgehog. After all, he wasn't usually quiet when he left.

But he was gone and, once again, a brown paper bag had been left near the fire. Cautiously, the kit walked up to the bag to peer inside.

Six chili dogs!

He looked back up quickly and took a few steps back in fear. Why would there be so much leftover food? Where had he gone?

And why hadn't he checked the plane?

The fox bit his lip as he stared at the bag. With six uneaten chili dogs there, he could probably take two and not get noticed…

You could mistakenly think six were in a bag when there were really only four. That seemed completely logical to the starving fox and remained that way as he happily ate two of the dogs.

They were not hot, but they seemed to have kept their warmth better by being closer to the campfire. His stomach growled and urged him to take another, but the fox knew better. Everything had to be done cautiously; carefully.

If he was brazen, he would most likely get caught and punished. He did not want any more injuries from the islanders, and there was no telling how vicious the hedgehog could be.

The food here had not been thrown away as it had been in the village. He was stealing, and he hated himself for it, but he hoped that his repairs to the plane would be a worthy appeasement to his thievery.

Now he just needed to get the hedgehog to realize it had been fixed.

* * *

Two days later had proven unfruitful and the fox was actually becoming frustrated at the hedgehog. How had he not noticed all his repairs? How can you not check on your plane, run schematics, or simply try and start the engine?

He needed to get the hedgehog's attention. The speedy Mobian was still disappearing during most of the day, which gave the kit plenty of time to try something slightly more drastic.

With an idea in mind, at the end of the second day the fox returned to his home and retrieved some supplies, bringing them back with him and keeping them hidden behind some bushes near the perimeter of the forest.

He had collected a lot of aged paint from the islanders, as the heat easily ate away at the color and dulled it into something that was unusable to them.

However, the island was full of natural pigments that allowed the kit to revitalize the paint into whatever color he chose. He would usually transfer small portions of paint to containers, add the pigment, and use the recolored paint to add style to his many inventions.

For this task, however, he had to use up all of his remaining paint that he possessed. And to create the color he wanted, he had to pick three dozen of the most vibrant ocean lilies that the island had to offer.

His trip and preparations had taken most of the night and, by the time he returned to the beach, he'd been exhausted. The hedgehog was still passed out when he returned, so the fox opted to sleep himself, as he had a busy day ahead of him.

* * *

The fox had awoken late in the morning, much later than usual. He frantically checked to ensure the hedgehog was gone, then pulled his supplies out from behind the bushes to begin his day.

As he had for four days now, the fox happily took two of the six leftover chili dogs within the brown paper bag and munched on his meal of the day, stirring the paint as he did so to make sure it had the right consistency and color.

Then, with a homemade brush from wood and finely threaded pine needles, the fox began the plane's paint job.

* * *

It was late afternoon and close to the time that the hedgehog would return. The fox was nearly done with painting; he had a few touch-ups on the panel, where he had to be extra careful to not paint over the white trim.

His ears were vigilant, however, as he waited for the telltale sonic boom he had grown accustomed to.

"What are you doing?"

The sudden voice thundered in the kit's ears and his painting hand stuttered on the hull of the plane. Thankfully, the blue pigment missed the white trim.

The fox did not turn around. A million thoughts of what was going to happen next flashed through the kit's mind and he bolted under the plane and back towards the forest.

He did not get far: a quick breeze and a plume of sand later, the fox found himself standing face-to-face with the blue hedgehog, effectively blocking him from his escape route.

The traveler's foot tapped impatiently and his arms were crossed over himself.

The sudden stop in his escape attempt caused the vulpine to fall backwards on his butt, but all he could do was stare at the hedgehog with wide, terror-stricken eyes.

All of those happy thoughts the fox had, with the friendly hedgehog that he had managed to help in exchange for a few chili dogs, were gone. This was reality, one which the fox had tried fiercely to prevent happening. He had let his guard down and now he would pay the price.

His eyes clenched shut tightly and he hunched over himself, afraid to try and run again. He knew all too well that the speedy Mobian would catch him in the blink of an eye.

"Kid, you all right?"

A hand came across his shoulder and the fox yelped involuntarily. He jumped, batted the hand away before it could take a hold of him, and somehow found the adrenaline to get up and run like he never had before.

He made it to the forest and well beyond. His breathing was rapid and shallow from fear and he paid no mind to the bushes and shrubberies that he skidded by.

His lack of cautiousness, however, left him vulnerable to the other threats of the island.

With a sudden jolt, the fox felt something hit his neck hard. He fell back onto the ground with an, "Oomph!" and could not make any more sounds because his vocal chords had been hit in the process. A pair of rough hands grabbed him and yanked him back up into a standing position, far before he was ready.

"You're not supposed to be on the beach," a familiar voice growled.

The fox had trouble swallowing, his neck still reeling from the crash. He looked up fearfully and met eyes with a large jackal cub. In the kit's haste and recklessness he had run straight into the arms of the bullies.

_SLAP!_

The fox felt tears in his eyes from the hit across his cheek.

"Don't make eye contact!"

The fox returned his gaze to the floor, the sting in his face still sharp and his neck throbbing. His arms were still being held by two other islander children and, from staring at the ground, the vulpine could see two additional sets of feet besides the jackal.

"We saw you out on the beach, graffitiing that plane. Do you even know whose plane that _is_?"

The fox did not respond, though he wasn't sure if he could at this point. His neck was tight and felt swollen from the abrupt crash.

"Of course he wouldn't," another voice drawled.

"Sonic saw you, you know," the jackal said, poking the fox in the shoulder aggressively. "If he knew this village is _cursed_ he would probably never come back!"

"Well, you got about half of that right."

The fox recognized the new voice and found the courage to look up with the rest of the children at the hedgehog that had entered the clearing. His stance was different than when he'd caught the vulpine escaping: his hands were balled in tight fists by his sides and a fierce frown was etched in his brow.

"Let the kid go," the hedgehog growled.

"Sonic!" the jackal exclaimed, nervous excitement lining his voice. "I'm really sorry about your plane! We were just trying to help catch the—"

"Enough. Let him go, _now,_" Sonic, as he was called, interrupted and took a step forward.

The jackal looked back to the two children holding the kit—another fox and a raccoon—and nodded to them. They released their grip on the tiny fox's arms, allowing the child to stand on his own. Instinct had him bring his hands to his throat to inspect it, but a quick glance at the jackal's glare made him stop immediately, returning his arms and gaze to the floor.

The jackal fully turned to the blue hedgehog. "You do realize what he did to your plane, right? He's an outcast on this island and does nothing but cause trouble around here."

"Funny, seems like you're the one causing trouble."

The other fox crossed his arms defiantly. "Are you kidding me? He's a mutant! My dad says that his tails bring bad luck to our village and attract demons."

The fox in question kept his stare on the grass floor. His hands trembled at his sides and his notorious tails were pressed together tightly, dragging along the ground.

A scoff escaped the hedgehog's lips. "The only demon you guys have to worry about is Robotnik, and don't expect me to come save your hides when he finds you."

The islanders were silenced at that remark and they looked at each other before turning their attention back to the hedgehog. "But I thought you defeated Robotnik…?"

The traveler only scowled at them. "I guess only time will tell. Now scram."

The islanders nor the tiny fox moved, the former clique still stupefied by the hedgehog's obvious disdain of them and the latter too afraid to move and catch an unwanted reaction from the bullies.

The hedgehog didn't seem to care. "I said _scram_ before I _make_ you scram!"

His hostile shout was enough to get the entire group to scramble. The islanders bolted back towards the beach and the tiny fox wasted no time escaping in the opposite direction.

There was a chainsaw sound again, and the fox finally determined it was caused by the hedgehog gaining speed on the leafy ground. His breathing was erratic from his neck, so when he found himself face-to-face with the hedgehog once more, he could not cry out in surprise. He bumped into the blue Mobian at full speed—which wasn't very fast at the moment—and fell backwards with another quiet, albeit raspy "Oomph!"

"Kid, I meant for those bullies to scram, not you."

The fox did not reply. He was breathing heavily, his fear still strong but waning slightly from the hedgehog's actions a few minutes ago. He was still seated on the forest floor, one arm propping himself up and the other instinctively massaging his neck. He peeked up at the hedgehog watching him, unsure of what to do.

"Is your neck okay?" the blue Mobian finally asked, kneeling down to the kit. "Why are you rubbing it?"

The fox took a deep breath and coughed, feeling the muscles spasm but eventually ease up. He stopped rubbing it and warily watched the hedgehog as he scooted back a few inches. "I'm okay," he finally said. His voice was rough, but seemed to be clearing up.

The hedgehog frowned. "Did they do something to your neck?"

The fox shook his head vigorously, then regretted the decision when he felt the soreness in his muscles. He swallowed heavily and tucked his legs under himself, his tails automatically coming to rest over his feet.

The traveler watched the fox's reaction, still kneeling in front of him. He opted to not press the kit for more information and said instead, "Those are some pretty cool tails."

The vulpine could not stop a flinch from escaping at the last word and turned his head away.

Silence reigned for a few moments before the hedgehog added, "I don't care what those stupid kids told you. You're not a curse and your tails are not bad luck. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard and, trust me—when you fight Robotnik you hear some pretty dumb stuff."

There was still no response and eventually the hedgehog sighed. "My name's Sonic. What's yours?"

The fox's arms wrapped around himself as he stared listlessly at the forest floor. He could feel the aggravation in the hedgehog's demeanor and he still couldn't find the courage to say anything.

"Are you hungry?"

Sudden thoughts of chili dogs and the memory of their taste for the past few days finally brought the kit's gaze back to the hedgehog—or Sonic, as he'd been formally introduced.

Sonic smiled at that small reaction. "I have some more chili dogs at my campsite, if you're interested."

The fox's eyes inadvertently darted around, still hesitant of an unforeseen trap. But it was just Sonic and him in the clearing; no bullies, no islanders, no tricks.

"They're hot this time, too."

His eyes darted back to Sonic in surprise, followed by fear. "You … knew?" he finally squeaked.

Sonic shrugged as he stood back up, offering his hand to the fox. "I knew someone was eating them, and I found it peculiar that they'd only eat some of them." He emphasized his hand gesture to prompt the fox. "Come on kid, let's go eat some dinner."

Hunger—as it usually did—won out, and the fox carefully placed his hand in Sonic's, allowing the hedgehog to pull the vulpine to his feet.

The fox pulled his hand away immediately, but not angrily. Touch was a foreign feeling to him and his instincts told him to avoid it at all costs.

Sonic didn't seem to take offense, but a concerned expression seemed to shadow his features. He walked a few steps forward and turned, making sure the kit would follow.

With only a brief delay of uncertainty, the child trailed after him.

* * *

"Eat until you're full."

The fox had already eaten two of the chili dogs and could not believe how much better they were when the chili was steaming. He hesitated after his second dog, however, causing the hedgehog to speak up and nudge him when he noticed.

He pulled out a third chili dog for the fox and offered it to him. "You need more than two. Eat."

The fox didn't understand what that meant, but he wasn't about to turn down a third helping. He grabbed the dog gently, mumbled a, "Thank you," and quickly began devouring the savory morsel.

Sonic chuckled a little and continued eating his own sizeable portion of chili dogs.

The fire was glowing brightly, with the sun nearly below the horizon. The paint job of the plane was a pristine ocean blue and nearly matched the hedgehog's memorable fur color. The kit couldn't help but smile to himself at how much newer the plane looked.

"I like the color," Sonic mumbled, seemingly reading the fox's thoughts. He looked up at the hedgehog and back at the plane, smiling even more.

"I have to ask though, why'd you want to paint it?"

The vulpine finished up his third dog and, before he could even swallow, the hedgehog had handed him a fourth. He took it and swallowed the last of his previous bite. "So you'd know your plane was fixed," he answered simply, munching into the fourth dog a little more slowly this time.

Sonic's mid-bite had stopped abruptly at the fox's words. He pulled the chili dog away from his mouth and arched an eye ridge. "What?"

The little fox's mouth was full again, however, so he used his head to nod towards the plane. "You ca' f'y," he tried to mutter out.

The hedgehog stared at the plane, then at the fox, and back to the plane. He carefully set his half-eaten chili dog on its wrapper and walked up to the biplane, circling it. On the other side, he opened the panel and inspected it briefly before jumping up into the cockpit. He glanced down at the fox, who was staring at him while he chewed.

The hedgehog paused, then turned the engine on. It purred to life without a hitch.

He laughed shortly as he turned off the engine, then laughed again almost hysterically, but at a lower volume. He jumped out of the plane and ran up to the fox, startling him and causing him to involuntarily back up.

"You _fixed_ my plane!" Sonic yelled excitedly.

The fox was taken aback by the sudden shift in attitude and wasn't quite sure if it was safe or not. He held on to the last quarter of his fourth chili dog tightly, but stayed tense and ready to bolt if needed.

Sonic seemed to recognize his uncertainty, however, because he calmed down and kneeled in front of the kit. "Keed, you _fixed_ my plane. Thank you."

He nodded at the blue Mobian timidly.

Sonic shook his head disbelievingly, but smiled nonetheless as he sat back down and resumed eating. "I can't believe a little kid fixed my plane." He looked at his dog and back at the fox. "You're fast too, you know."

The kit cocked his head at him and replied, "Huh?"

Sonic nodded and took a bite of his food, swallowing before speaking. "Yeah, when you ran off from the plane you were makin' wind. Your tails were spinning like crazy."

The fox's ears folded back at the mention of his appendages. He only used his tails like that when he was running away from things and hadn't realized the hedgehog had seen that.

"Why do you get so sad at the mention of your tails? You shouldn't hate them."

The fox looked up at Sonic briefly, then looked back down at his twin appendages. "I don't hate them," he answered quietly.

"Then what is it?"

"When others talk about them, I usually get hurt." He looked up at the hedgehog. "You're the only one that's said something nice about them."

When the fox met the hedgehog's eyes, he saw the concerned expression that he had seen earlier.

"They give you that black eye?" Sonic finally found his voice.

The kit turned away and did not answer.

"Stop protecting them, keed."

The fox was still, then finally nodded.

"And the neck? You got some bruises showing up under the fur."

He nodded again, once.

"They said you were an outcast. Does that mean you're alone out here?"

The fox could not muster the strength to meet the hedgehog's eyes. He simply nodded again.

"No parents?"

A shake of the head this time.

"How long have you been out here, keed? You look like you haven't had a decent meal in ages."

"Th—three and a half seasons."

Sonic paused, thinking. "So about a year?"

The fox shrugged. "I think so. I don't like keeping track of the days," he added softly.

"Where were you before?"

The fox looked back up the hedgehog. "An orphanage, I think. Not in this village."

"How'd you wind up here?"

Another shrug. He looked away, back at the last bite of his fourth dog. "All I remember is needing to get away. I … I think bad things were happening to the town, but I just ran."

The hedgehog frowned at him. "Keed, do you know how old you are?"

"Five."

The hedgehog's eyes widened. "Five? You're only five?"

The fox watched the hedgehog apprehensively. "I think I might be six soon, I've been five since I left the orphanage."

Sonic took a shaky breath. "Jeez, keed. You talk like an adult, you fixed my plane with who knows what, and you got two tails that let you run faster than most of the idiots on this island. What the hell made 'em think you were a _curse_?"

"Bad things followed me."

The hedgehog turned his head abruptly. "Bad things? You mean—"

"Robots," the fox finished. "They were chasing me, I think. And we still get some, occasionally."

"Robotnik," Sonic growled to himself. "He's left a trail of destruction across all these islands."

The fox watched the hedgehog's change in demeanor, but recognized the name from earlier. "He's the one you defeated?" he asked.

Sonic smiled sardonically. "I put an end to his plans, but he wasn't defeated. He got away."

"They're his machines?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, he makes droves of them and takes over villages." The hedgehog paused, then looked at the fox sadly. "That's most likely what made you run away from the orphanage."

"His machines have good parts, but their designs are very flawed."

"How do you know that?" Sonic asked incredulously.

"Some I took apart and some the villagers did. They'd throw the remains away in the salvage yard."

"I guess that's how you got to learn about machines so early?"

The kit shrugged. "I've always liked seeing how things work." He popped the last bite of his chili dog in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed heavily. "I think I'm full now."

Sonic smiled as he finished up the last of his own hot dog. "Good, you needed a filling meal." He stood up and walked over to the plane, opening up a storage compartment. "I don't have an extra sleeping bag, but I got a blanket in here. You're pretty small, so you can probably stretch out in the cockpit pretty comfortably. What do you say?" He pulled out the blanket in question and held it out for the fox.

The kit looked at it and back at the hedgehog. "I … I have a home, it's okay. You don't have to do that."

Sonic watched the fox for a few moments, contemplating. He took the blanket and walked back to the fox, sitting down next to him. "You said you've been out here three seasons now?"

The fox nodded. "Three and a half."

"How was the winter?"

The kit was silent as he looked to the ground. "Cold," he lamely answered.

"How'd you get food? Not much growing at that time, I imagine."

The fox flinched and his hands rubbed together nervously. "I didn't steal, if that's what you're asking."

Sonic was quiet. "Keed, I didn't mean it like that. But, however you got your food, it wasn't easy I imagine. Or safe, since so many of those idiots are around here."

Memories of the winter began plaguing the fox's mind. Cold, shivering nights … a bad infection from a punch that had broken skin … and scavenging through icy trash cans for anything edible.

Not all of the villagers hated him as bad as the bullies. Most were indifferent to his existence, but a few of them knew about his ingenuity, and once or twice they'd seek him out at the salvage yard to repair some of their gadgets in exchange for food.

It had saved his life each time it had happened, but it did not happen often enough. When things got especially bad last winter, he had taken note of the homes with plenty of food to spare. He had watched them carefully and—since his access to their homes was limited to the backyard or an open garage—he had taken opportune moments to "break" something of theirs.

His victims were friends of the ones that had sought help from him, and he desperately hoped word of mouth would bring those victims to him with the machines he had broken.

It worked every time.

He had only done it three times throughout the course of the winter, but he had nearly gotten caught at the last break-in. When you were already weakened from the cold weather and lack of food, sneaking around became a much harder feat to accomplish.

Tears welled up in the fox's eyes. The thought of another winter terrified him.

"Hey," Sonic whispered to him, scooting next to the fox. "I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to … I just was trying to make a point," he tried to explain.

The kit sniffed and wiped at the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. "What point?" he finally asked, glancing at the hedgehog.

Sonic's eyes were sympathetic as he watched the fox. "I was trying to offer you a ride off this island."

Teary eyes widened into surprise. "You'll take me with you?" he asked, his voice rising in disbelief.

The hedgehog seemed to reach out as if to place a hand on his shoulder, but stopped. Instead, he opted to hand the kit the blanket still in his arms. "I have a pretty big place in the Mystic Ruins. Big garage too, for the plane. I figure you can hang out there for a while, get some meat back on your bones, and decide what you want to do from there."

He stared up at the hedgehog, then turned his attention to the blanket, contemplating. Taking a moment to find the courage, he finally asked, "You're … you're not trying to trick me?" With the question he looked back up and began searching the hedgehog's reaction for signs of deceit.

An unknown expression crossed the hedgehog's features, something the fox wasn't familiar with. This time the hedgehog did reach an arm out and wrap it around the kit's shoulders. The fox startled at the touch, but resisted the urge to pull away.

Once his instincts subsided, the fox found the touch comforting, and warm. It was so foreign to him, and yet he cherished it more than the chili dogs he'd eaten.

"Two Tails, I promise you I'm not tricking you. I want you to come with me and—frankly—I don't want you to ever have to see this island again."

The fox leaned into the hedgehog's outstretched arm and in turn Sonic hugged the kit to his side. "I mean it, keed. What do you say?"

His tails twitched behind him and he simply nodded into the hedgehog's side. "Okay," he finally said.

Sonic squeezed his hand on the kit's shoulder and grinned.

"Why'd you call me 'Two Tails'?" the kit finally asked, looking up at the hedgehog.

He shrugged in response. "Well, you haven't given me your name yet, so I figured I'd call you by your best features instead."

The fox smiled shyly. "I like it," he answered.

Sonic laughed lightly. "Well then, Two Tails it is." He paused, then hummed. "Well, honestly, Tails might be easier. Two Tails might be a bit redundant." The hedgehog snapped out of his mini diversion and looked down at the fox. "Is Tails acceptable?"

The fox's grin grew. "Tails is even better."

"Awesome! Well, Tails, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to hit the sack." He offered the blanket to the fox, who took it from him. Sonic then offered his hand, and the kit tucked the blanket under one of his arms before accepting it.

Helping the fox up, Sonic guided him over to the plane's wing and turned to him. "Need a lift?"

The fox—going by Tails now—smiled nervously at Sonic. He had one more trick up his sleeve, and for once in his life he didn't feel afraid to show it to his new friend. "No thanks," he said simply.

His tails twisted together, then began spinning rapidly. With a light whir, Tails' namesakes had lifted him off the ground as if they were helicopter blades. With a quiet ascent, Tails went over the biplane's wing and landed squarely inside the cockpit.

Sonic's mouth was agape and he stood dumbfounded as he watched the fox.

"You—you—"

Tails, hoping for a positive response, was beginning to worry at Sonic's expression. His smile faltered and he started to hug the blanket tighter instinctively.

"You flew! You can fly!" Sonic finally found his voice and excitedly jumped on the biplane's wing. "Seriously, keed, that's like—that's gotta be the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

"R-really?" the fox asked, relief flooding through his body. He shakily put the blanket down on the pilot's seat before turning back to Sonic. "It's very useful," he timidly added when the hedgehog just stood there, smiling at him with his arms crossed.

"I bet," Sonic responded good-naturedly. "You're a pretty impressive kid, you know that?"

Tails shook his head at the statement, embarrassed. "Thanks for letting me sleep here," he changed the subject, turning to unfold the blanket he had been given.

It was soft and well woven and made his ratty blankets back home look like pieces of parchment. When Sonic did not respond, he nervously looked back at the wing of the plane, afraid he had offended the hedgehog.

That same, odd expression was on Sonic's face as he watched Tails, one of his hands on his waist and the other dangling at his side. The expression was hard to describe, both because Tails had never seen it on anyone's face before, and because he wasn't sure of the appropriate word for it.

"Did I … say something wrong?" Tails weakly asked, worried that he had already messed up this amazing opportunity.

"Nah, Tails, it's okay," he finally answered, shaking his head at something—himself?—before jumping off the wing of the plane and returning to his sleeping bag. "I just realized that it's going to take a lot of work."

"What's going to take a lot of work?" the fox curiously asked, settling onto the pilot's seat and wrapping the ends of the blanket around him so he was cocooned in its warm embrace.

"To make you a happy kid again."


	3. Emerald Hill pt 2

Sonic woke up with a start.

The beach was quiet, aside from the crashing waves coming in from the tide and a breeze rustling the nearby trees. The fox kid he had happened upon was still slumbering away in the cockpit, if his light snores gave any indication.

But Sonic had awoken in a panic nonetheless, sitting up straight and his body rigid with tension.

He had dreamt again.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths later he was finally able to relax his muscles and let the lingering thoughts dissipate with the low crackle of fire that still burned within the campsite. Shifting in his sleeping bag, Sonic reached over and grabbed a stick, stoking the fire and shifting some of the wood that had not yet caught ablaze.

His dreams seemed to always reflect the, "What if?" of his adventures, or more poignantly—Dr. Ivo Robotnik. They were general wonderings and nightmares of a world completely ruled by the evil engineer, and the Mobians that would be killed because of it.

Had he done enough damage to Robotnik's base and armies? How long before the doctor made his reappearance in the world?

And why didn't Sonic—the supposed hero—kill him when he had the chance?

A light whimper interrupted his pessimistic thoughts and the hedgehog glanced up towards the cockpit of his plane, the Tornado. The whimper was brief, followed by a few moments of silence before the quiet snores resumed. Sonic swallowed heavily and returned his stare to the embers of glowing wood.

Could he have saved Tails from the life he was living?

An involuntary wave of anxiety washed over him as his thoughts turned to the little fox he had rescued. Small villages were known to be more superstitious and simpleminded in their ways, but he couldn't fathom the kind of evil that would leave a small child to fend for himself in the woods.

Robots followed the fox because they were chasing him, not because he was a bringer of misfortune with cursed tails. The villagers knew exactly who Sonic was when he came through the town, so obviously they had heard of the speedy hedgehog that had destroyed Robotnik's base twelve long months ago.

And yet they still blamed the fox with nowhere to go.

Maybe Tails was just afraid to approach the adults. With how those islander children had treated him, it'd be no wonder that the little fox would stay away from _all_ villagers. Sonic had to chase down the fox and shove food in his face before the kid would even talk to him, after all.

There was really only one way to test his theory, however, and he doubted his new friend would be very keen on being a part of the experiment.

Sonic sighed, settling back into his sleeping bag to lay on his side and watch the remaining wood crackle and glow in blazing orange hues. He had no business offering the little fox a place to stay; he was barely a teenager himself and was in the midst of a lull between the eventual resurgence of Robotnik, and by proxy another war.

How could he take care of a kid when he'd be busy taking down robot armies?

A mental image of the kit's face appeared in Sonic's mind suddenly, the fox's eyes meeting the hedgehog's briefly before clouding over as he stared at the ground.

_"You're … you're not trying to trick me?"_

As the child had returned his gaze, Sonic had never seen a more untrusting expression on anyone before. The fox fully expected to be betrayed and it made the hedgehog fume at the absolute absurdity of it all.

His anger had turned into a swell of protection for the fox, and he had never felt more sure of his promise to the two-tailed kid. Impulsivity had always been a hit and miss trait of the hedgehog's, it would seem.

Tonight's nightmare, however, had grounded reality back in and reminded Sonic why he'd chosen to be a loner for so long.

Eventually, even as the purple undertones of twilight announced the pending sunrise, Sonic's eyes grew heavy and he found sleep once more.

* * *

"Tails?"

The little fox jumped at his nickname, nearly falling back into the water. He turned and saw the blue hedgehog, Sonic, staring at him confusedly, wiping the last bit of sleep out of his eyes.

The fox had been about knee-deep in the ocean, his hands scrubbing his tails and body fur with a mixture of sand and sea water.

"What are you doing?" Sonic prompted when the fox didn't acknowledge the implied question.

"Oh," Tails swallowed, looking at one of his hands still covered in the exfoliating concoction. "Uh, when you don't have soap, the sand helps to get the dirt out."

Sonic's eye ridge raised, but he didn't respond right away. Tails finished up with his scrubbing, taking one final dip in a deeper part of the water to rinse the remaining sand out of his fur. Once he walked back ashore he shook rhythmically, releasing a majority of the absorbed water from his pelt.

Sonic shook his head in disbelief, crossing his arms as he did so. "I didn't think kids liked baths."

Tails cocked his head at him. "Really? But they keep you clean."

Sonic let out a breathy laugh. "And most kids don't care about being clean."

"Oh," Tails said, frowning slightly as he thought about that answer. "But then you would smell."

The hedgehog chuckled. "Are you up for some breakfast?" he asked, changing the subject.

Tails' ears perked up, giving away his interest before he could respond. He walked up to Sonic hesitantly, but nodded with a vigor that showed his true feelings.

As he approached, Sonic offered his hand out to the kit. "Well then, let's make it a quick trip."

Tails' eyes widened as he looked at Sonic's hand. "Really?"

The hedgehog didn't answer, but kept his hand out as an offering and grinned confidently. The fox faltered only briefly before reaching out to grab Sonic's outstretched hand with his own.

In a blink they were cruising, with Tails nearly horizontal from the speed. He yelled out excitedly, fascinated by the way the surrounding environment seemed to blur. He briefly wondered if there had been a sonic boom, but realized shortly afterwards that Sonic probably couldn't go that fast with a fox kid tagging along for the ride.

If he had, Tails' arm would have probably snapped off from the sudden intense pull of velocity.

Blurs of green, followed by more brown and neutral colors darted by, before Sonic skidded to a halt. Tails was barely able to find his footing as gravity took its toll and sent his feet back towards the ground.

He was shaky from the adrenaline and nearly collapsed, but Sonic released Tails' hand to grab under his arm instead, providing some leverage to the vulpine as his muscles tried to remember how to stand.

"Wow," Tails breathed, "that was awesome!" His smile was huge and he ignored the wooziness he was still experiencing.

Sonic's grin grew before he smirked. "And that was only a fraction of my speed, keed." Once Tails seemed to have found his balance again, the blue hero released his hold on the kit's arm and rubbed his hands together with gusto. "Now let's go get some breakfast tacos!"

The rush began to dissipate and Tails felt his smile disappear as his eyes took in their surroundings for the first time. His breath hitched in his throat as he warily recognized the village's main square, his steps fearfully going backwards.

Sonic had turned and was about to walk towards a nearby café when he saw the fox's change in demeanor. "Tails?" he asked, turning back towards the fox.

"I—I can't be here," Tails squeaked, his pitch not much higher than a whisper. "I'm not supposed to be here," he said again, his steps more deliberate as he turned and began to run.

Sonic was unsurprisingly faster, though, and he quickly got in the way of Tails' escape attempt. "Keed, calm down. There's no reason why you can't be here."

Tails shook his head furiously. "No, no I'm not allowed here. If they see me they'll get mad, Sonic! I have to go," he insisted and nearly whined as he tried to sidestep the hedgehog.

Sonic's hands came to rest on Tails' shoulders. "Tails, kiddo, calm. Down. You're with me; those kids aren't gonna get you here, okay?"

The fox's eyes began to burn with unshed tears and he looked up at Sonic with absolute frustration. "Please Sonic," he whined again.

Sonic had that same expression on his face as the day before, and Tails still couldn't quite figure it out. It almost appeared like he was angry, but the anger wasn't necessarily directed at the fox. It made him uneasy, however, and he didn't know how to respond to it.

Before he could react, however, Sonic knelt in front of him, his hands still on Tails' shoulders. "Okay big guy, we don't have to eat here. Let's get some takeout, at least, and then head back to camp. Sound good?"

The fox watched the hedgehog, searching his features for signs of betrayal. He eventually nodded though, and swallowed heavily as Sonic sighed and stood back up.

"I'm—I'm sorry Sonic," Tails finally answered, his focus on the ground. "You can stay if you want and I can go."

"What? You're better company than most of these folks anyways," Sonic said and winked at Tails, causing the kid to smirk ever so slightly. He patted the fox on the shoulder. "I'm guessing I can't convince you to come with me to the café, at least?"

Tails shook his head. "I'll wait by the trees."

Sonic's encouraging grin faded at Tails' comment, but he acknowledged it with a curt nod. "Back in a flash."

As Sonic turned and sped up to the restaurant, Tails wasted no time in scurrying back towards the treeline, all too aware of how exposed he was out in the open.

* * *

"Two dozen? That's more than yer usual. Hungry mornin'?"

The restaurant's owner, an old heavyset bear, had directed the question at Sonic as he handed the order to his cooks and began ringing up the hedgehog.

Sonic was glancing back where he had left Tails, but turned to the bear when the question was addressed to him. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sharing this morning with a friend."

The bear chuckled, grabbing an empty mug and setting it in front of Sonic. He pulled out a nearby carafe of coffee and poured its hot contents into the cup. "On the house," he offered, "since you won't be stayin' this mornin'."

"Thanks," Sonic gratefully answered, instantly sipping on the caffeinated liquid. He turned back around and—realizing the fox must have been quick to hide—shrugged to himself before turning his attention back to the café's interior.

It was still early, so there weren't many inhabitants partaking in breakfast at the restaurant. Sonic would normally be sleeping in at this time of morning too, but Tails' attempt to exit the plane wasn't as quiet as he probably thought.

Granted, Sonic was already on edge, so it didn't take much to wake him up anymore, at least not these days. Any metallic sound—like the squeak of the plane's joints as Tails climbed out of the cockpit—was enough to send the hedgehog's senses on high alert.

Pretending to still be asleep, Sonic had curiously watched the kit neatly fold up the blanket he had borrowed, and place it back in the compartment Sonic had pulled it out of the night before. The kit then stretched and, stealing a glance at the hedgehog, walked over to the water and out of sight.

Sonic had almost pretended to wake up then, worried that the fox was leaving. He heard splashing shortly afterwards, though, and figured the kid must've been taking a morning swim.

While the blue Mobian was no fan of water, he wasn't surprised that Tails enjoyed it. Most islanders loved the water, since they grew up surrounded by it, not to mention its hefty food source of fish. He was a little surprised that the fox knew how to swim at such a young age—especially being an orphan—but then realized almost as quickly that the kit might've not had much of a choice in learning the skill.

Presently the hedgehog frowned, remembering one of the main reasons he had tried to convince Tails to come here this morning. He looked up at the café owner, who was currently helping another customer sitting on the other side of the bar. Sonic waited, quietly sipping his coffee and enjoying the warm, bitter concoction.

When the bear walked back over to Sonic, the hedgehog took his chance to bring the subject up.

"Hey, uh, Frank," Sonic asked, his mind trying to find the best way to ask, "you ever seen a two-tailed fox around?"

The bear's normally jovial expression darkened, and Sonic felt his stomach churn at that simple change in demeanor. "Yeah, what about him?" the bear asked almost guardedly.

The hedgehog kept his cool, shrugging nonchalantly. "Just curious," he carefully answered.

The bear was smarter than he looked though when he added, "That's the friend you're sharing with?"

"Maybe," Sonic answered. "Is that going to be a problem?"

The hedgehog's irritation must have resonated, however, because the bear sighed in exasperation and laid a hand on the counter. "Sonic, I know you mean well and all, but you really shouldn't be encouraging that cub."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sonic didn't even attempt to hide his offense from that statement.

"Look, I ain't superstitious or anything. I know everyone likes to say he's cursed and all, but obviously the chemical fumes got to him in the womb or somethin'. But he's a nuisance: he rummages through trash and our salvage yard, is constantly tryin' to fix things around here (and not fixin' them), and I heard he's been stirrin' up a lot of trouble for the kids lately, sickin' robots on them and whatnot."

At some point during Frank's rant, Sonic stood up out of his seat, his hand grasping the handle of his coffee mug so tightly he was sure it was already cracked beneath his fingers. The bear seemed to recognize Sonic's rage as he spoke and his voice lowered back down to a normal octave by his last sentence.

"Where do you get your information?" Sonic finally asked, his voice nearly venomous.

Frank stood up straight and placed his other hand on the counter. "I've seen some of it firsthand, Sonic. Maybe the kid's been lyin' to you, ever thought of that?"

A bell ringed, startling both Frank and Sonic out of their stare-down. Behind Frank a cook had placed a brown paper bag on the kitchen counter, a receipt stapled to its edge.

Sonic pulled out a couple of coins and tossed them at Frank, forcing the bear to scramble to try and catch them. While he did so, Sonic used his speed to jump the counter, grab the food, and make it back to the entrance of the restaurant, with time to spare as Frank successfully caught the currency.

Sonic's mug of coffee was left on the table and sloshed from the quick movements. Its handle—cracked on both joints—fell to the countertop with a quiet clang.

"I saw firsthand, too, what those kids did to him. He has a gift, not a curse or some deformity. It's a shame you're too closeminded to see that."

Frank's surprised look turned to anger and he opened his mouth to rebuke.

Sonic interrupted his attempt with a simple, "Thanks for the food. I _won't_ be doing business here again."

With a _swoosh_ Sonic exited the café and made his way back to the main square. The sun had risen more and, with it, the village inhabitants were out and about. Many smiled at the hedgehog as he skidded to a stop, a few even waving to him.

Sonic searched the treeline for his charge. When he didn't see him a lingering concern for the kit started to make its presence known and Sonic hurriedly entered the woods to find him.

"Sonic!"

The hedgehog turned and breathed out a sigh of relief at seeing the little two-tailed fox bound up to him unscathed.

"You, uh, ready to go?" Sonic asked, trying to mask his earlier panic.

Tails nodded, his eyes already staring at the bag of food in Sonic's hands. The hedgehog smiled at him and offered his hand.

"Come on, keed, let's get out of here."

* * *

"How did you defeat Robotnik?"

Six tacos into breakfast, Tails' voice interrupted Sonic's eating and he glanced at the little fox sitting next to him at his campsite.

Swallowing before answering, Sonic replied simply, "Well, I destroyed his bots."

Tails, also heartily eating a taco, shook his head. "I mean, what happened? He has a bunch of bots, but what was he trying to do and how did you stop him?"

Sonic internally grimaced, but outwardly shrugged as he took another bite. He let out a breathy sigh as he chewed, opting to keep his stare out at the ocean instead of the curious kit next to him.

"Well, he was using his bots to take over factories, ransack villages, that kind of thing. He used some feral animals to power some of his badniks—"

"Badniks?"

"That was the name he used for them. Anyway, he was after the Chaos Emeralds, which would power his bigger bots and really cause mayhem."

"What are Chaos Emeralds?"

Sonic stared at Tails, the corner of his mouth curving into a diminutive smile. "You never heard of Chaos energy?"

Tails' ears dropped back, his eyes returning to his half-eaten taco with doubt. "Should I have?"

Realizing his choice of words, Sonic shrugged and patted Tails' shoulder. "Some places know about them, some don't." Tails' ears perked back up slightly, causing Sonic to let out a small sigh of relief.

He quickly elaborated: "Supposedly Chaos energy is everywhere, and legend has it that an ancient civilization was able to harness concentrated forms of the power into stones. The energy is limitless, and can even be used to control space and time.

"There's actually another belief that these stones are linked to a massive one—larger than a boulder—and that it holds the true power to Chaos; the Chaos Emeralds are but smaller elements of the larger stone's true abilities."

Tails became engrossed in Sonic's words, his taco forgotten about and his eyes wide as saucers as he listened to the legend.

"Well, even in ancient civilizations evil exists, and some bad guys decided to try and hoard all the power of the emeralds for themselves.

"Long story short, the only way the civilization could save themselves was to separate and hide the Chaos Emeralds. Even when they're brought together, once they're used they scatter again, to try and prevent their power from being used for evil."

"Wow," the vulpine breathed. "Did you find them?"

Sonic nodded. "I did. Managed to get them all before he got his grubby hands on them."

Tails jumped up excitedly. "Do you still have them? Can I see them? How many are there?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nah, keed, they disappeared after … well, they ended up getting used and scattered."

"How?"

Sonic frowned as he stared at the ground in thought. "Not sure, to be honest. When I brought them back to the island they seemed to recognize the damage there and just started glowing. One minute they were there among the destruction, and the next they had disappeared, with the damage from 'buttnik all but a memory."

"They fixed their home?"

The hedgehog glanced at his fox friend and shrugged. "I guess so, yeah."

"How many are there?"

"Six," Sonic replied. "I guess maybe seven if you believe that there's a giant one somewhere, too."

"You didn't find that one?"

"Nope, just the little ones. But you could _feel_ their power, even just holding them. I hate that they disappeared—gives Robotnik a chance to find them and start his schemes all over again."

Tails, still standing from his earlier excitement, jumped up and down a couple of times. "But you'll find them first again, right Sonic? You'll make sure he doesn't get a hold of them!"

Sonic watched the kid's excitement cautiously. "I don't know if it's really that easy, Tails. Getting those emeralds in the first place was hard—they weren't even, well …" Sonic paused, "they were really hard to get to the first time around."

"Oh," Tails sat back down somewhat dejectedly, staring at his taco still in his hands. "But you did. And you saved the world. You're really brave."

The hedgehog was about to take the last bite of his breakfast when he snorted at the fox's comments. "Kiddo—"

Before Sonic could respond, a distant yell distracted the two Mobians and they looked up to see a group of villagers making their way over to them. Tails immediately stood up, the last bit of his meal dropping to the sand in his haste.

"I should go," he said, swiftly turning back towards the trees.

Sonic stood up with him and grabbed the little fox's arm before he got away. "Tails, stay with me. I won't let them hurt you, I promise."

Terror had gripped the fox again, as Sonic could feel the kit's body tremble just from his hold on the kid's arm. The hedgehog looked back up to see the islander children, along with quite a few adults. A quick visual check told him Frank was not among the group, though he wouldn't have been surprised if talks of his altercation with the café owner had spread through the village like wildfire.

Steeling himself for what was to come, Sonic pulled Tails' arm towards him and brought the fox partially behind the hedgehog in a protective stance. He let go of Tails' arm but turned to look at him one last time.

"Stay close to me, okay Tails? I can't protect you if you run off."

The fox was staring at the approaching group worriedly, but managed to look up at his blue friend and nod shakily in acknowledgment.

"Sonic Hedgehog?"

The hedgehog in question looked back up as the group of villagers entered his campsite. He glared at the children, who appeared smug as they stared at Tails.

"Yeah?" he briskly prompted.

A tall, lanky cat spoke, and his jacket told Sonic that he was some sort of representative of the village.

"Sonic, I am Gerald Roffer, the mayor of Shoreside, one of the many villages of West Side Island." The cat seemed a little out of breath from his determined march through the sand, but managed to conceal his heavy breathing during his introduction. "You have been enjoying our hospitality, I hope?"

"I had been, yes," Sonic carefully answered. Tails shifted nervously behind him, but the hedgehog kept his eyes on the crowd.

"Good, good, I am glad to hear that." He cleared his throat and pulled on his jacket almost anxiously. "We are here regarding a one Miles Prower."

Sonic, to his benefit, had no problem looking stupefied at that comment. "Who?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"The freak next to you," one of the islander children—the fox from the day before—chimed in smarmily. One of the adults glared at the fox, however, and he snapped his mouth shut.

"I don't know what he may have told you," Gerald continued, also shooting a glare at the kid that spoke out, "but we have reason to believe he has been fixing many of Robotnik's old robots as a way to terrorize our residents."

"What? That's crazy," Sonic exclaimed. "He's just a kid!"

"He knows a lot about machines," another villager piped up. "He steals from the salvage yard all the time."

"Sonic, we don't mean you any trouble," Gerald interrupted again. "We wish no harm on Miles, either, but he has been a nuisance to our village for some time now. His most recent altercation with the children have left them afraid of him."

"Funny, last I saw they were beating him up," Sonic growled out.

"Did he show you his invention?" another of the islander children—the jackal leader, if Sonic remembered correctly—spoke up. "He had created a weapon to use on us. It shot lasers!"

"Energy beams," Tails corrected before he could stop himself. Sonic glanced at him in surprise.

"See?" the jackal continued, as if his answer was an admission of guilt. "He was using Robotonik's stuff to create a gun, or something! We had to destroy it before he could hurt anyone." His last sentence was almost said with pride and Sonic felt his spines bristle at how manipulative the child sounded.

"It wasn't a weapon!" Tails argued back weakly. "It was a battery. When you broke it that energy got released, is all." His voice faded near the end, his fear taking a hold of him once again. He hadn't moved from behind Sonic, and instead stepped closer to the hedgehog after speaking.

"Look, you don't need to worry. I'll be taking him with me when I leave," Sonic answered bluntly. The looks of surprise that washed over the villagers' faces would've been funny if it weren't for the circumstances.

The silence lasted a few more moments until Gerald finally found his voice: "I see. And are you of legal age to be taking in a child, Sonic?"

The question was sharp and Sonic found himself unable to respond right away. His brow furrowed and he eventually answered with a question of his own: "What do you care, as long as he's not in your village anymore?"

"He belongs in an orphanage, as he'd been in previously. His ability with machines has not gone unnoticed, but it is a gift that needs to be nurtured—"

"Oh, I get it now!" Sonic interrupted, his voice unable to hide his repulsion. "He's not worth the bread on your table to take care of, until you realize he can give you something in return." The hedgehog shook his head, his arm instinctively coming to wrap around Tails' shoulders. "That's _not_ how this works. Now get lost."

"Sonic—"

"I said GET LOST!" Sonic's teeth grated together and he felt his reserve being replaced with fury by the second. The actual nerve of these wretched Mobians—

_BOOM!_

An explosion, distant in sound but enough of a shockwave to shake the land they stood on, echoed from the forest. Smoke began pluming out beyond the treeline, billowing up into the sky in black trails.

The villagers began panicking immediately. Cries of "Robotnik!" were heard among them as more explosions erupted.

"Sonic, you have to do something!"

"Please!"

Their cries were a drastically different attitude from moments prior and it made Sonic's stomach churn even more. The urge to investigate was strong, however, and he felt himself turning towards the ongoing destruction, his arms coming to his sides and his fists clenched tightly.

A hand on one of those clenched fists startled the hedgehog. He looked down to see Tails staring at him.

"Sonic?"

The blue Mobian knew that he could not leave Tails here, at least not with the villagers present. But he couldn't very well drag the small kit into the throes of what was most likely Robotnik's revival, either.

He felt himself torn, a foreign feeling to the normally laidback hedgehog. He growled out loud, turning back to the islanders. "You need to get out of here, now!"

Thankfully, the Mobians did not need much encouragement. They instantly dispersed, many of the children being picked up by their respective parents as they left the beach and headed back to the main village. Sonic turned to Tails.

The fox was already shaking his head, however, his eyes wide. "Let me go with you, Sonic!" he cried, his hand still on Sonic's clenched fist.

The hedgehog bent down to Tails' height and brought his hands up to the vulpine's shoulders. "It's too dangerous, kiddo. Stay here and wait in the cockpit. You can close the lid and lock it."

"Please, I can help!"

"No, keed." The hedgehog stood back up, and—glancing one last time in the direction the villagers left—picked up Tails and deposited him in the cockpit of his plane.

The fox let out a small, "Oof!" as he was plopped into the pilot's seat. Sonic quickly grabbed the shield out of its compartment along the back of the cabin, pulling it across until it connected with the windshield and sealed automatically.

"Sonic!" Tails' voice was muffled as he looked up at the hedgehog through the heavy plastic, his eyes wide and pleading.

"You'll be safe in here," Sonic encouraged, doing his best to ignore the pang in his chest and instead opting to pat the cover. "This is custom, and while you can't fly with it, it's sturdy and can't be easily opened from the outside. Stay put, Tails, and don't let anyone see you in here." Sonic stepped back, still on the wing of the plane, and gave a brief wave.

"Be back in a flash!"

And with that he was gone.

* * *

The outskirts of Shoreside Village, nearer to the inland mountains, was where Sonic found the first of the robots attacking.

It took him a couple minutes to reach the area, seeing as though his speed was reduced from navigating through the thick woods that surrounded the western edges of the island. He had already explored a majority of the areas during his impromptu crash on West Side, and had managed to learn most of the topography, but heavy foliage had never been conducive for his velocity.

Nevertheless, his previous explorations had showed only a couple lone, dilapidated robots, and remnants of a couple villages that had been attacked last year, which lined up with Tails' story to a T. Shortly after the destruction of Robotnik's base on South Island, Sonic had followed the doctor's trail to a couple neighboring islands, including West Side. At the time, however, there was no pattern or insight into his motives: just ransacked villages and destroyed buildings.

And as quickly as they had happened, they had stopped. It had been months since Sonic had heard of any further attacks, and he had been unable to determine where the doctor had retreated to.

So, the fact that Sonic was now face-to-face with a hoard of wasp-like robots meant that the evil doctor had just arrived.

Jumping into a tight ball, Sonic's spikes and speed sawed one of the buzzer bots in half instantly, even as a thermal ball of energy escaped its tail. As soon as the hedgehog landed he jumped again, barely avoiding the searing hot blast that had been aimed at him.

These robots were much different than the ones he had fought before. Robotnik had improved his designs tremendously.

Sonic revved up and began dodging blasts from the flying contraptions, leaping along trees and using their flexibility to slingshot himself up and over the buzzers. After the destruction of four or five more robots, the hedgehog pushed lightly off a tree and landed next to it.

He barely had time to take in a breath before he heard the sound of something clanking next to him. Turning his gaze downwards, Sonic let out a curse and dived, barely avoiding the explosion that erupted from the metal bomb shaped like a coconut.

He wasn't able to land on his feet, instead skidding face-first into the ground from the small shockwave. Sonic angrily sat up, spitting out the dirt he had gotten in his mouth before turning his attention to the source of the mischief.

A monkey robot sat in the palm tree, well hidden beneath the fronds, and next to him were a handful of coconut-shaped bombs.

Sonic's puzzled expression was only exemplified by the small, "Huh?" that escaped his mouth. Seriously, Robotnik, a monkey robot?

"Ugh," Sonic declared, shaking his confusion away. "You're going to regret that!" he yelled. He spindashed up the tree, curling around the trunk and coming out on top, behind the coconut wielder. With a propelled somersault, he landed on the monkey's head, detaching it and taking it with him as he fell back to the ground.

The machine sparked and malfunctioned, the rest of the body falling out of the tree with a loud thunk. Sonic had landed lightly next to it, tossing the monkey's head in his hand like it was a basketball.

"Oh ho ho ho ho!"

Startled, Sonic dropped the mechanical head and turned around. Robotnik, in his notorious floating mobile, was hovering at the top of a hill and staring down at the hedgehog with a sinister smile.

"Long time no see, 'buttnik," Sonic mocked, effortlessly hiding his earlier surprise by placing his hands on his waist.

The man in question lost his smile and glared at the hedgehog with malice. "Glad to hear your sense of humor is awful, as usual."

"To each their own, _'buttnik_," Sonic declared, emphasizing the last word with a drawl. The doctor was too high up for Sonic to reach, even if the speedster got a running start and leapt. He opted to stand casually instead, watching the evil scientist and waiting for an opportunity.

Robotnik simply stroked his long ginger mustache, his stare as unreadable as ever with his thick opaque glasses and poker face. "Did you miss me?" he finally asked. "I must admit, you really did make me have to go back to the drawing board on a few of my inventions."

Sonic scoffed. "Sorry, I'm sure arts and crafts was your worst subject in kindergarten."

"Really, have we lowered our standards enough to squabbling, Sonic?" The doctor pressed a couple buttons on his machine, causing Sonic's senses to perk up as distant mechanical sounds reached his ears.

"I'd love to stay and chat, of course, but I have a date with some _beautiful_ emeralds," Robotnik chuckled gleefully, waving at the hedgehog from afar. "I do hope you enjoy my classic _art_ _projects_, oh ho ho ho ho!"

Sonic growled as Robotnik's mobile made an about-turn and sped off. Before he could even attempt to give chase, however, the ground rumbled and a huge group of land robots came swarming over the hilltop.

They were simple ground bots, and as Sonic observed them he noticed they were the exact kind he fought last year getting to Robotnik: crab-like robots with slicing pincher claws; ladybugs on wheels and wielding sharp hooks; and even caterpillar-shaped robots with explosive body parts.

Sonic's fists were tight as he debated his options. Robotnik was obviously hoping that sheer numbers might dissuade the speedster from pursuing him, since the design of his land robots never seemed to stand up to Sonic's spindashes. It was as if the mad doctor was using his remaining scraps as an attempt to slow the hedgehog down...

Robotnik wouldn't have come to this island unless he had reason to believe the emeralds resided here. Sonic had heard tales that West Side was the original home of the Chaos Emeralds, but there was never any evidence to support it.

Then again, there had never been much evidence to support that the emeralds even existed, either, until Sonic had found them himself.

That led to only one conclusion: Robotnik was on the Chaos Emeralds' trail, and he was buying time to get to them first.

Realizing he didn't have a choice, the hedgehog bent down and set his aim straight through the mass of metal moving towards him. He could bulldoze a line, enough to get through, but it would leave Shoreside vulnerable to the remaining robots that would inevitably make their way in that direction.

A familiar sound suddenly reached his ears and Sonic's eyes widened. He turned his head in time to see the Tornado dive-bomb down into the mass of robots, essentially landing on top of them and pulverizing the ones that got in the way of the propeller.

The biplane's wheels touched down after flying through the metal army, bouncing unsteadily a couple times before finding its footing and slowing to a stop across the field. Sonic turned back to the destruction left behind in its wake and found two-thirds of the robots out of commission.

Despite himself, Sonic had to smirk.

Tails flew out of the cockpit, coming back around to Sonic with a bag in tow. The hedgehog took the time to spindash through some of the remaining robots, adding to the pile of sparking debris laying across the meadow.

The kit landed heavily, breathing rapidly and clutching the bag's strap tightly. "Sonic!" he called to him, waving.

Sonic jumped down on two more crab bots, hitting them hard enough that their hull crumpled in and destroyed the mechanics inside. He jumped up and out of the metal wreckage, landing casually next to the fox that was now resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Wanna tell me why my plane is not on the beach anymore?" the hedgehog deadpanned.

Tails rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I'm sorry! I know you said to stay in the plane, but bots started showing up and I was worried they'd destroy it."

Sonic crossed his arms. "And where did you learn how to fly a plane?"

"Oh, uh … I guess books. I mean, once you figure out how the engine rotates the propeller and provides the thrust to move forward, it's just a matter of—"

"Whoa, okay buddy, I'm gonna take your word on it," Sonic waved his arms as a signal to slow down. Tails' ears dropped back, but Sonic patted him on the shoulder. "I'm just impressed, is all," he added sincerely.

Tails smiled, one of the first proud smiles Sonic had ever seen on the kid. Sonic grinned from the reaction, but his behavior faltered when he remembered the kit's earlier statement.

"Wait, you said robots were coming your way?"

The fox nodded and Sonic turned around to look towards the beach. "Right under my nose the whole time," he muttered to himself. He turned back to Tails, but startled at the looming crab robot behind him.

"Tails, jump!"

The fox did not hesitate. He took to the air with his namesakes immediately, narrowly avoiding the swipe of the bot's large claw. Sonic spindashed the mechanical menace, and in doing so found himself in the center of about a dozen more of the motorized creatures. He jumped quickly to avoid the heavy drill arm of one, only to have to duck afterwards to avoid another claw pinching far too close to his quills.

There was the sound of a small burst of mechanics going haywire, followed by a thunk. Sonic turned behind him to see Tails panting heavily and standing atop a crab robot. He smiled at Sonic, then looked over and jumped on top of a robot with a drill arm, prying open a well-hidden panel and pulling at its wiring inside.

It sparked and fizzled, and Tails took the opportunity to jump up and slam back into it, his namesakes wrapping tightly around himself. The machine's axles broke, its wheels turning outwards as the bot fell flat onto the ground with a resounding crunch.

Sonic's eyes were wide with shock, but he quickly became a prime target standing still. Returning to the task at hand, he began to dismantle the rest of the robots that Tails' plane-flying did not destroy. His eyes, however, kept a sharp peripheral focus on the little fox that seemed to be handling himself rather well.

Within minutes, Sonic and Tails had finished off the remnants of Robotnik's army, or at least the old army he had used against Sonic last year.

Breathing a long breath of adrenaline out, the hedgehog turned to his fox friend. "You okay over there?" he asked, lightly jumping over some debris to get to him.

Tails, breathing much more rapidly than Sonic, started to nod but stopped short as he reached up to his shoulder. "Oh no! Where's my tool bag?"

"Tool bag?"

The kit began picking up and tossing metal pieces frantically, searching beneath the wreckage. "It has all my tools, what I used to help fix your plane. Oh no, I shouldn't have—I had to put it down, it was too heavy and the robots, they were—"

Tails' voice had started rising with each passing word, his panic almost palpable. Sonic interrupted his friend's rambling with, "Whoa keed, it's cool, we'll find it." The hedgehog began helping the frantic vulpine, pulling up nearby debris and checking the ground for any sign of a bag.

"I see you have made a mess once again, Sonic."

Both fox and hedgehog jolted at the voice, the former falling backwards over a detached robot panel, and the latter nearly snarling at the newcomer.

Robotnik's face was void of any snark this time around, which meant his patience had already been worn thin.

"It's not very nice to send me on a wild goose chase, you know."

Sonic crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. "You sure you're not chasing your own tail, 'buttnik?"

"ENOUGH! Where is it, you fowl creature?"

Tails scrambled to stand back up, his movements finally catching the attention of the mad doctor. Robotnik's eyes narrowed but his voice lilted when he calculatingly asked, "And _what_ do we have here?"

Sonic wasted no time in speeding over to the kit and standing protectively in front of him. "If you're referring to the remains of your pathetic army, feel free to collect your trash."

Robotnik completely ignored him, his eyes fixated on the new face. "Oh ho ho, did Sonic make a friend?"

Sonic's fists tightened and his arms stayed flared out, shielding the majority of the fox from the doctor's eyesight. "Leave him out of this, 'buttnik!"

"And why should I? You never brought along any friends, much less tiny ones—and, what? Is that _two_ tails? Oh ho ho ho ho!" The mad doctor began laughing his signature laugh, his head lolling back in delight as his chuckles continued. "Leave it to the spiny speed freak to find brethren in another freakish creature!"

Sonic kept his stare fixated on Robotnik, but quietly spoke to Tails: "Kiddo, can you climb my back?"

The fox squirmed a little. "Okay. I found my bag, Sonic!"

The hedgehog did glance briefly at the fox and, sure enough, the kit had the satchel around his shoulder again. He discreetly returned his attention to the doctor. "That's great keed—now hurry!"

Robotnik, enjoying his own joke far too much, finally calmed his laughter down and returned his attention to the two Mobians. "Now, Sonic, I know you don't want your new little friend getting caught in the crossfire, right?"

Sonic felt two hands snake up the side of his quills and barely reach the tops of his shoulders.

"Tell me where the emerald is and I'll make sure that they only aim for _you_."

"Jump, keed!"

Tails did not need more encouragement. He jumped up and Sonic assisted the kit by holding under his knees. In the same instance the hedgehog bolted, rays of laser fire raining down where they had just been standing. Robotnik's incessant yelling was barely audible from the sounds of metal debris being torn up from the bursts of energy.

Tails wrapped his arms tightly around Sonic's neck, carefully keeping his head and torso to the side of the hedgehog's sharp quills. Sonic could run easily enough holding onto the kit's legs, but he would soon need his arms to get through the forest he was darting towards.

"Tails, hold on tight!"

The vulpine responded by tightening his legs around the hedgehog's waist, his head burrowing into the back of Sonic's shoulder. Feeling like the kit was secure in his grip, Sonic released the kid's legs and began using his arms to snake around, under, and over tree limbs, doing his best to account for the extra weight currently attached to his back.

The laser fire was not far behind. Sonic knew Robontik's little floating mobile couldn't fly through the woodlands, so it was likely another set of robots were giving chase. He hissed when a laser beam nicked his ear, and his heartrate quickened at how close that had come to hitting Tails, too.

He needed to increase his speed.

"Kiddo, we gotta get ahead of these bots, so things are going to get really fast!" Sonic yelled over the wind. "Whatever you do, don't let go!"

If the fox answered, Sonic didn't hear him. But the kid's legs and arms were still holding on tight, so he took his chances. Keeping all of his energy focused on the forest terrain, the hedgehog sped up even faster, knowing how much of a risk it was with how dense the trees and shrubbery were.

Another slash of heat seared against his foot, hitting the forest floor and kicking up a plume of dirt, rock, and leaves. It was a sour reminder to the blue Mobian how necessary his haste was.

"Sonic!"

The fox's voice was so small against the rush of wind. Sonic couldn't risk a glance back, though. "Yeah?!" he yelled into the airstream, hoping his voice would carry.

"—not bots … —beams!"

"WHAT?!" he yelled, unable to make out the kit's sentence.

"They're not bots!" Tails had raised his head, trying to aim his muzzle towards Sonic's ear so he could hear him. "They're heat-seeking beams!"

As soon as the kit finished his sentence, Sonic burst through the treeline and found himself on coastline again. The sudden change in floor texture caused him to stumble, but he quickly found his footing and skirted along the beach, finally able to risk turning his attention behind them.

Sure enough, no robots could be found. Robotnik had been trailing them from above the forest, raining his laser fire on them.

As the mobile continued to give chase, the lasers that were fired seemed to have a mind of their own, bending and curving towards the hedgehog and fox.

_How the hell—_

"Sonic, the water!"

Oh no, absolutely not.

"They won't find us in the water!"

"I can't swim!" Sonic yelled back, feeling that was enough to keep that awful idea from resurfacing.

"I can! I'm really fast, too!"

"Tails, no!"

A laser shot—or was it a laser, since it could seek heat, Sonic internally wondered?—landed in the sand just behind them, sending up an explosion of dust.

Why did it have to be water? Of all the lousy—

There was a heavy jolt, and Sonic's heart skipped a beat when he heard Tails cry out. "TAILS!" he hollered, grabbing the kit's legs again in case his passenger lost his grip.

Deathly silence followed for a couple seconds, sending Sonic's nerves haywire, but the fox eventually piped up: "I'm okay—it hit the bag!"

Sonic let out a huge sigh of relief, but mentally cursed himself. He couldn't keep risking the kid's life this way.

"All right keed, we're going in!"

The fox shifted his grip, "Okay! I'm ready!" he yelled.

Sonic took a deep breath—his heart now racing for other reasons—and mentally counted to himself.

_One … two … oh Chaos… Three!_

With a heated yell of frustration, the hedgehog made his ninety-degree turn, his speed sending him right into the waves crashing against the shoreline.

He screamed and, before he could register why, he felt a searing hot pain hit his side. As his feet felt water he instinctively jumped, and at their speed the duo flew up high into the air like a skipping rock before disappearing into the murky depths.

Sonic felt the cold water touch his body, the searing hot pain in his side now only a fraction of feeling compared to the intense terror that froze him to the core.

Whether it was the pain or the fear, it didn't matter: within seconds the world became weightless and black.

* * *

Sonic awoke to sniffling. His side painfully pulsated with his heartbeat and his head felt like it weighed a ton. He involuntarily groaned, something squishy below him crinkling in response. Eventually he cracked open an eye, almost afraid to find out where he was.

He was met with a rather unexciting rock wall.

Sonic, in no mood to turn around just yet, opted to stare at the boring rock wall. It was not damp, so it was unlikely he'd been brought to some ocean cavern, but it was certainly dark enough to be a part of a cave of some sort. His eyes caught shifting light and it took him a while to realize it was shadows playing across the source of light, rather than a crackling campfire.

There was more sniffling again, followed by a small whimper that Sonic instantly recognized.

Finally finding the motivation he needed, the hedgehog pushed himself up into a sitting position with his arms, briefly noticing the old foam pad that was doubling as a mattress beneath him. His breath hitched at the pain in his side and his hands instinctively went to the area, finding some clothe tightly wrapped around his waist.

"Sonic?"

The hedgehog, who had momentarily forgotten why he had sat up in the first place, glanced back at the voice. "Tails, buddy, you okay?"

The fox was on the other side of the small cave, but quickly made his way up to the hedgehog. "I'm okay. Are _you_ okay?"

The hedgehog was about to say something nonchalant, but he turned a little too fast and a hiss involuntarily escaped his mouth at the lightning pain that shot up his injured side. "Well, could be better, I guess. What happened?"

The kit's hands went behind his back and he shrugged shyly. "You got hit by the egg man's beam when we went into the water and passed out. I didn't know where else to go, and we were close by, so I took you to my home." The vulpine pointed to Sonic's injury. "It wasn't real deep, but it was still bleeding, so I took my blanket and made it bandages. I put some alcohol on it, but you still might need antibiotics."

Sonic had listened intently to Tails, becoming more flabbergasted by the second. The first question he could come up with, however, was, "You had alcohol?"

"Lots of Mobians leave it on the beach when they stay the night. I know it's good for being an antiseh—antiseptic, so I keep some. It tastes awful, though."

The hedgehog stared at the fox for a few moments, still soaking in the explanation from earlier. "Wait a minute. Did you say 'Eggman'?"

While a blush couldn't be seen on the fox, his ears folding back out of embarrassment gave away his emotions. "Sorry, yeah, his hovercraft looked like an egg and he—"

Sonic busted out laughing, startling the fox momentarily before he eventually smiled, too. The hedgehog felt his side ache at his giggling, but he was unable to hold back.

"Oh, dude, I'm _so_ using that the next time we see him!"

Tails, looking like he was still not quite sure of the situation, laughed too before noticing that Sonic was holding his side again. "Be careful Sonic, you don't want to start bleeding again."

Finding the last bit of strength to calm his amusement, Sonic nodded to the fox and wiped the tears of laughter away from his eyes. He took a couple deep breaths, using the time to finally take in his surroundings.

The cave was not large—roughly the size of the Tornado without wings, give or take—and housed quite the myriad of gadgets and trinkets made from metal scraps. Sonic could see the light source from earlier had come from some sort of battery-powered lantern, which gave off a soft iridescent glow.

Sonic's makeshift bed was made up of scraps of cardboard and foam padding, which was not entirely uncomfortable. The kit had made himself quite the home here, and Sonic now understood why he had been hesitant to stay with the hedgehog the night before.

A stronger thought nagged at Sonic and he looked over to the vulpine. "Tails?"

The fox had been picking up some leftover bandages—what was once his blanket, Sonic reminded himself—off the floor. He glanced at the hedgehog when his new name was spoken.

"Kiddo…" Sonic paused, unsure of how to proceed. It wasn't like he did this very often, after all. "You saved my life. I don't know if I can ever repay you for that."

Tails, watching his new friend, shook his head. "I just got you out of the water, Sonic."

"No, big guy, it's not just that. You flew the plane and handled your own against a lot of 'buttnik's bots. You pulled me out of the water, somehow dragged my heavy butt to your home, and treated my wounds. None of this stuff a five-year-old should be able to do, but you _did_."

The vulpine shyly looked away, unsure of how to respond. Sonic smiled.

"Just—thanks, keed. I owe you big-time."

The kit peeked back up at Sonic and, for the second time ever, provided the hedgehog a genuine, proud smile. He reached down to grab the last of the blanket shreds and grimaced as he stood back up.

Sonic's grin disappeared. "Tails, are you hurt?"

The fox shook his head. "It's just a little scratch, not like yours."

The hedgehog's eyes drifted to where the fox had subtly pointed—his side—and realized that, when he got hit with the laser beam, it had also edged past Tails, too. Sonic shook his head and motioned with his hands. "Kiddo, let me see."

The fox was obviously unsure, but eventually put the pieces of fabric down into a pile and walked over to his friend. Sonic motioned with his hands for Tails to lift his arms, and once he did the hedgehog gently pushed the fur back on his side.

Sure enough, a laser burn could be seen on the skin under the pelt, bright pink but definitely not bleeding. As the kid had said, he had just been grazed while Sonic had gotten the brunt of the hit.

Knowing the kit was anxious to step back, Sonic took the time to check over the rest of the fox, to ensure that no other injuries existed. A memory surfaced from the incident earlier and Sonic reached up to pull Tails' arms back down.

"Earlier you said a beam hit your bag. Where is it?"

Tails' face went from anxious to gloomy almost instantly, but he pointed to the item in question. Over on the other side of the cave, near the entrance, was a heavily blackened satchel. Whatever had been inside appeared to be destroyed, as a few of the tools had been removed, blackened and bent oddly from the intense heat they had suffered.

"Aw, I'm sorry buddy. Did any of them survive?" Sonic asked, finally realizing what had been the cause of Tails' whimpering when he awoke earlier.

There was a small sigh, followed by a shake of the head. "It's okay, though. I'll find more."

Sonic watched the fox for a moment, then returned his gaze to the bag. "Bring it here, will you?"

Tails blinked at Sonic curiously, but obediently walked over to the satchel, picking it up and keeping it horizontal since the flap was open. He carefully walked it back to the hedgehog and placed it down in front of him, kneeling as he did so.

The hedgehog pretended to look through the bag, eyeing the multiple charred pieces of what used to be tools. He hummed and nodded occasionally, piquing the fox's curiosity even more—if his agitated tails gave any indication.

"Sonic?" Tails prompted.

"Well, the bad news is that they are definitely destroyed."

The kit bent his head down in acknowledgement.

"The good news, though, is that I'm pretty sure I got all these tools back at my house, in my garage."

Tails glanced back up with wide eyes. "Really?" he asked excitedly.

"Pretty sure of it," Sonic stated. "And, seeing as though I owe you one, I think it's only fair that they become yours."

When Sonic looked back towards the small fox, he saw the widened eyes and expression of disbelief etched across Tails' features. He had stunned the fox into complete silence.

Sonic smiled at his new charge. "You deserve them, keed."

The fox, his eyes still wide and staring at Sonic, finally found his voice: "You … you mean it?"

"Of course, kiddo."

"Th—thank you," he quietly responded, his eyes timidly looking back down at the remnants of his tool bag. "Sonic?" he asked again, his eyes staying downcast.

"Yeah, bud?"

"Why … why are you so nice to me?"

The question threw the Mobian off guard and he wasn't quite sure how to respond. He watched the fox squirm nervously in front of him, still kneeling next to his tool bag and his hands in his lap, fingers habitually pulling on his old, tattered gloves.

"Well, Tails, you're my friend. Friends do nice things for each other." It was the most simplest answer Sonic could think of. In reality, he could've explained to the fox that the islanders' treatment of him was in no way how anyone should treat a living creature, but explaining that to a five-year-old (even a genius five-year-old) was not something Sonic thought he could do successfully.

All he knew was that the kid deserved better, and he was going to do his best to make sure he got it.

"You're my first friend," Tails responded quietly. After a moment's hesitation, he peered up at the hedgehog.

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck. "Truth be told, you're my first friend too."

"That's not true! Everyone likes you," Tails insisted.

"That makes them fans, keed, not friends. Fans admire you, sure, but they don't know you, and they don't do nice things for you." Sonic sat up a little higher, grimacing as he did so. The tool bag that was sitting on his lap slid down, its damaged flap slipping further backwards and opening up its main compartment.

A faint purple glow became visible within the blackened material, catching Sonic's eye.

A familiar, ethereal glow.

_"Where is it?_" Robotnik's voice boomed into Sonic's memory.

"Tails, what is that?" Sonic asked, already all too aware.

The fox followed Sonic's gaze. "Oh, that's my battery."

The kit fished into the satchel and pulled out the source of the light: a purple gemstone.

A purple Chaos Emerald.

Sonic had never seen a purple Chaos Emerald. Yellow, pink, blue, green, red, and white: those were the colors of the six Chaos Emeralds.

But as the hedgehog shakily reached out for the stone and felt its weight in his hand, he suddenly realized what Robotnik had already determined:

There were _seven_ Chaos Emeralds.

"Tails … where—where did you get this?" the hedgehog whispered, his eyes never leaving the jewel's sight, mesmerized once again by its beautiful, pulsating energy.

From his peripheral vision, Sonic could see Tails watching him curiously before shrugging. "I found it when I first got here. It's a really cool stone—it's like an endless battery source. I can power a lot of my inventions with it, or even store some of its energy in them. I—" Tails paused, glancing away briefly.

Sonic noticed the fox's hesitation and looked over to him. "You what, Tails?"

He sighed, fidgeting. "I don't know how, but I think it made me stronger. When I was learning to fly with my tails, keeping it on me helped me go higher and farther."

"It heals, too."

Tails' head jerked back up at Sonic. "Huh?"

Sonic grunted as he stood back up, his hand still on the purple gem. "It's a Chaos Emerald, Tails."

The fox, standing up with his friend, cocked his head confusingly. "But I had this the whole time. You said—"

"I was wrong. There aren't six. There are seven." Sonic, feeling the pull of the emerald through his glove, closed his eyes and let the energy course through him. The Chaos Emerald began to glow brightly, and Tails backed up in shock.

Within seconds the intensified glow died down and Sonic opened his eyes, breathing out a heavy, tired sigh. He smirked and handed the Chaos Emerald back to Tails.

The fox timidly took the gem from Sonic's outstretched hand. "What—was that?" he asked.

Rather than answering, the hedgehog pulled on his makeshift bandage, allowing the fox's careful work to unravel around him.

"Sonic—!"

But the small fox's indignant call stopped short upon seeing the hedgehog's side. While a burn mark could definitely still be seen, the flesh had closed up completely, leaving what looked like a minor burn beneath the hedgehog's fur, no worse than Tail's own injury from the laser beam.

"Wow," he breathed.

Sonic carefully flexed his torso to ensure that he could move without issue, then nodded to the fox. "Kiddo, go ahead and grab what you want to take. 'buttnik knows about that Chaos Emerald—he was tracking it from your tool bag and it won't take him long to find it here."

The fox, still reeling from shock at Sonic's healed side, took a moment to absorb his friend's words. When he finally did he nodded, scrambling back to another side of the cave, Chaos Emerald in tow.

Sonic took the opportunity to walk to the mouth of the retreat, stretching his body along the way. While the Chaos Emerald had certainly turned a major injury into a minor one, his body still ached from the earlier robot battle, not to mention the intense escape through the forest and beach.

He was not complaining, though.

At the entrance to the cave, Sonic immediately stepped back, a small gasp escaping from him before he could stop it.

Tails' home was on the side of a mountain, high enough to see a majority of West Side Island's western coast. Even from here, Sonic could identify smoke billowing from their robot battle earlier, along with additional smoke trails coming from the villages scattered throughout.

Robotnik was leaving a trail of destruction in his hunt for the Chaos Emeralds.

"I'm ready, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, toting a very old backpack that seemed stuffed to the brim.

"Tails … did you fly me up here from the ocean?"

The fox simply nodded.

"How? I'm so much bigger than you!"

Tails shrugged, then pointed to the backpack. "I was carrying the battery—I mean, the Chaos Emerald—and like I said, I think it makes me stronger." There was a pause before he piped up again with, "Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is a Chaos Emerald purple?"

"Uh, good question buddy. All the Chaos Emeralds are different colors."

"Wow, really?!"

Sonic laughed lightly. "Yeah, keed."

"Is one of the Chaos Emeralds green?"

"Yup."

Tails nodded, almost knowingly. "They must've found that one first, and then after they named it they found more."

Sonic laughed again and shook his head incredulously. "You're something else, keed." A thought dawned on Sonic, and he smiled when he returned his gaze to the vista beyond. "Or should I say 'Miles Prower'?"

When he didn't get a response, Sonic turned to look at the fox. Tails had turned his head downcast, one of his ratty shoes kicking at a pebble on the ground.

"Aw, Tails, it isn't a bad name."

"I don't like it," Tails insisted, almost pouting. "They make fun of it."

Sonic frowned as he thought about it. "They do? But how?"

"Miles per hour," Tails offered sadly.

"Miles Prower," Sonic repeated, not realizing Tails' distinction in the syllables. He started to say it again before the play-on words finally clicked. "Oh, I get it now. Like how many miles per hour you're going."

Tails nodded, his eyes still boring into the cave's floor.

"Well, if it's okay with you, I'll just stick with Tails." The hedgehog grinned as Tails looked up at him tentatively.

"You promise?" he asked.

Sonic laughed. "I promise, Tails. Now let's go kick some _Eggman_ butt!"

Tails nodded vigorously, handing his backpack to Sonic. Sonic arched an eye ridge at him but took the offering, then watched as Tails began hovering again.

The fox reached out his hands for the hedgehog and—when Sonic didn't reach out right away—explained, "I can't fly with that bag on, and I gotta carry you down. It's real high up here."

Sonic, still perplexedly watching him and holding the backpack, slowly placed one of the straps of the bag over his shoulder and reached out for Tails' hands. It was one thing to be unconscious and carried, but to have a five-year-old fox probably half his size carry him down a near vertical drop...?

The hedgehog shook off the negativity as Tails grabbed his wrists, allowing Sonic to grip the kit's own wrists in the process. With a light grunt from the fox, Sonic's feet lifted inches off the ground.

He swallowed another scream as Tails flew through the mouth of the cave far too quickly for Sonic's taste (he never thought he'd say _that_) and his feet were below about six stories' worth of nothing. The outside wind caught them and Tails veered right, but he corrected the trajectory and slowly lowered them to the forest floor.

Sonic let out a breath he'd been holding when his feet met solid ground again.

The fox landed a little less gracefully next to him, breathing heavily. After a few moments he extended his hands to the hedgehog, silently asking for the backpack back.

Sliding it off his shoulder, Sonic handed over the item in question while studying their surroundings. "Keep an eye out, bud, ol' 'buttnik probably isn't far from finding us with that jewel."

Tails accepted the bag and—albeit more slowly with the weight ratio of bag to fox—slung the pack on his shoulder. He grunted a little at the heaviness but simply responded, "He wouldn't have been able to track it in the cave."

This caught the hedgehog's attention. "How do you know?"

The kit shrugged. "I never could get the battery—um, emerald—to work if it was in the cave and I was outside. I would first try to see how far I could be for it to affect my inventions, and when that didn't work I found a way to permanently transfer some of the energy to my stuff. Once it was used I would have to replenish the energy, but I could house small amounts inside some."

As Tails shifted the backpack on his back and Sonic watched him, he also guiltily added: "I think that's why the egg man never knew it was here until now. I always kept the, um, emerald in the cave. The first time I brought it outside was when I brought my tools with me to fix your plane.

"I wasn't sure if I would need it to help enhance the engine or not." The fox looked away from Sonic and quietly ended with, "I'm really sorry, Sonic."

The hedgehog, not for the first time, was stunned silent by Tails' words. The fox was so ridiculously smart, and his theory was spot-on. If the seventh Chaos Emerald had been hidden within a rock wall all this time, it would explain why Robotnik never found out about its existence.

But, once out in the open again, his method of tracking the emeralds gave him a prime reason to come out of hiding.

Realizing the kid's conclusion, Sonic shook his head deliberately. "No way, Tails, this isn't your fault. How could you have known? Anyways, it worked out better than expected: 'buttnik came here thinking he'd get the one up, and instead he finds me here with the emerald under my nose the whole time."

The hedgehog grinned when the fox glanced back up at him, and then playfully punched his shoulder when the kit did not answer. "We're already a step ahead of him, thanks to you."

Tails provided a hint of a smile to Sonic, shifting the backpack again and looking back towards the village. "So what do we do?"

Sonic hummed, his eyes travelling to the smoke trails of the villages, as well. "Let's head back to the Tornado and hope it's still in one piece; from there, we can secure the villages and head off ol' 'buttnik before he wreaks any more mayhem."

Tails nodded enthusiastically. "Are we going to look for more emeralds?"

Sonic, getting ready to grab Tails' wrist to speed to their next location, stuttered in his actions. "Uh, kiddo, I don't even know the first place to look, honestly."

Tails, grasping Sonic's outstretched hand when the hedgehog had paused, shrugged. "Dr. Robotnik does though. If he tracked this one, he can probably track the other ones, too."

Sonic, still not answering, took the moment to start his run to Emerald Hill, where they had left the Tornado. He was never very good at thinking standing still, he justified. When he took a peek behind him, Tails didn't seem bothered by the unanswered question, either: he was currently laughing from the thrill of sudden g-forces.

Going back to business, Sonic mentally laid out the facts: Robotnik was after the emeralds again, but there was no way of knowing if more than one was on this island. The doctor also had a way to track them now, better than what he had on South Island, anyways.

Sonic could feel the purple Chaos Emerald, though, and that weird shared wavelength of energy seemed to tell him that the other emeralds came here after the events last year, too.

It was like they had a mind of their own. Hidden until needed and now calling to him, but just out of his reach. He couldn't hone in on their whereabouts—he _felt_ it, but it wasn't strong enough.

Whatever _it_ was.

Seconds ticked by and he halted next to the battlefield, breathing another sigh of relief at the biplane forgotten about across the field. Robotnik was still on the trail for the Chaos Emeralds, even if the purple one fell off his radar for a while.

But he'd be back soon.

Tails wasted no time when they stopped. He let go of Sonic's hand and ran over to the Tornado, pulling off his relatively large backpack and plopping it onto the ground. He fished around, pulled out the purple Chaos Emerald and a small device that looked like a watch, then closed the top flap before shoving the rest of the bag into the storage compartment of the biplane.

He bounded back over to Sonic, thrusting both items in his direction excitedly.

"What—"

"I had been looking for other batteries too, before you told me this was a Chaos Emerald," Tails explained quickly, his words nearly blending together in excitement. "But like I said, I didn't like bringing the battery out in the open because it was really important to me and the other kids always destroyed or took what I made. I was afraid they would steal this, too."

When Sonic didn't reach out for the items, Tails shoved the stone into one of Sonic's hands and snapped the other device around Sonic's wrist.

"This amplifies the energy beams of the battery, which I thought would help locate another one," Tails continued. "But I was looking for the exact same properties of this battery—er, Chaos Emerald, and you said the Chaos Emeralds were different colors, so I adjusted the settings to look for a range of frequencies instead."

There was only a break in the words because the small fox had to gulp in air before continuing: "I was trying to make it work without taking the one I had out, which was hard because I would really need a way to record the energy to mimic it first, but now that we have it here you can hold onto it and my radar can amplify the wavelength and, since it's looking for a range we can hopefully find more!"

Sonic still hadn't moved. Eventually he studied his wrist and gave up trying to understand the screen, which _maybe_ looked like a specialized magnetic compass, if he had to put words to it.

He did manage to store the Chaos Emerald under his quills, so he had that going for him in the "do something" department.

What Tails didn't realize, and what Sonic really couldn't find words for, was the instantaneous pull he got when Tails flipped the device on, somewhere along his trek from the biplane to where he stood now. He hadn't been kidding about the amplification, but as someone apparently honed in on Chaos energy, Sonic didn't need the device on his wrist to tell him where to go.

He knew already.

Tails, still looking up at him expectantly, cocked his head at Sonic's far-off gaze. "Sonic?" he finally prompted, the earlier excitement waning.

Shaking off the feeling that was still there but had to be mentally pushed aside, Sonic snapped out of his trance and smiled at his new charge. "Let's say we go find some emeralds!"


	4. Chemical Plant

_Chemical Plant_

* * *

They hadn't stayed in the villages long, which Tails was thankful for. The majority of the robots had been destroyed along Emerald Hill, and the damage seen from the sky was remnants of the first assault, before Robotnik had officially met up with Sonic.

When they realized that Robotnik had left, they quickly began using the radar Tails had improvised together a couple months ago.

It was a mishmash of salvaged parts, but it served its purpose well enough. At least, it seemed to be guiding them in the right direction: Sonic was steadfast in his course and didn't even seem to be looking at his wrist all that much.

They were running at what Tails presumed to be a languid jog for Sonic, holding Tails' hand and cruising eastwards along the coastline. Tails was horizontal most of the time and was doing his best to withstand the sheer wind force one experiences at that speed. They stopped routinely, at least, mostly to allow Tails a chance to recuperate.

At some point during their travelling, Tails opted to twist his namesakes and run as well, still holding onto Sonic's hand. The hedgehog looked over in surprise but smiled at him, releasing his grip and allowing Tails to run next to him unhindered.

Sonic did have to slow down somewhat, as Tails was nowhere near as fast as the hero, but they kept a pace that rivalled most Mobians, and Tails was proud of that.

It wasn't long before Sonic brought his arm out, signaling Tails to slow down as he did the same. Breathing heavily but eyes bright with curiosity, the fox cub looked up at the looming chemical plant entrance with awe.

"It's in there," Sonic stated, only glancing at his wrist afterwards as if to confirm his statement. Tails walked over and peered at it as well, nodding when he saw the information on the screen.

"You think Robotnik is already here?" Tails finally asked, glancing around the relatively quiet area. While the trees and rolling landscape had given way to cobblestone, and puffs of something purple spewed out of the tall exhaust pipes along the factory rooftops, the noise was actually minimal.

The fox had only gotten his hands on one book about West Side Island's geography and economy during his stay near Shoreside, but it was apparently heavily outdated. He thought this area was supposed to be a relatively large dock for trade, but by the looks of it they had opted for a more industrialized item for commerce, something that apparently had lovely purple smoke as a byproduct.

"There's your answer," the hedgehog quipped and pointed straight ahead. Tails followed with his eyes and saw the immobile creation up a ramp, spewing small, yellow balls of poison out at will.

But, aside from its shortrange spitting, the only other advantage it seemed to have was its spikes.

Sonic grabbed Tails' hand, pulling him forward. "Let's jet over that guy and get to the Chaos Emerald before 'buttnik does."

Tails nodded at him, twisting his namesakes into action. They quickly sped around the spiny robot, allocating their time wisely. Sonic continued to guide them through the long corridors, up and down ramps, and through a couple ventilation shafts that seemed to be the only way between two parts of the building.

At the fifth juncture there seemed to be two options and Sonic growled in frustration, looking at his wrist for guidance.

"It's here, it's so close," Sonic grumbled, his fists clenching in obvious agitation. "But which way?"

Tails watched the blue hero, then turned back to a spiny robot a couple yards back. "I bet they're connected to the network here," he mused aloud. "Maybe I can see if they have access to a layout of the plant?" While he spoke he had inched closer to the robot, watching its spitting for signs of a pattern.

He was a couple feet away and was prepping to jump in when he heard Sonic call out, "Tails, what are you doing?!"

Startled, the fox turned around and looked at him perplexed. "I told you, I was going to—"

"WATCH OUT!"

Sonic, through Tails' eyes anyways, _teleported_ to him and shoved him to the side. The fox landed on his back and skidded a couple feet, dazed, but looked up groggily to see Sonic in the grasps of what looked to be a giant robot spider.

With the hedgehog firmly in its grasp, the robot began to retreat to the ceiling where it had apparently been hiding.

"Sonic!" Tails shrieked, scrambling back to his feet. He looked around for something, anything, to help his hero out. The factory was so barren, aside from the few robots they had come across, that it was a wonder whether any Mobians even worked in the plant—

A strangled yell came from Sonic as he tried to pull himself into a ball from within the long metal limbs of the grabby bot. Tails, with no real weapon aside from his brain, flew up to the two as the spider continued to ascend. He landed on the outside of it and quickly tried to pry the legs away.

The limbs were oddly jointed, meant for this purpose and this purpose alone. Tails studied them quickly as he pulled, following them back to the body and looking for weak spots. A wire, barely visible between the first and second segments of the leg, could be seen and Tails, sans tools, used the only improvisation he had: his teeth.

He chomped on it, effectively cutting it and sending a small jolt of electricity through him. The shock paralyzed him for a second, but that was all it took for the fox cub to lose his balance and fall back onto the ramp below. He landed on his back and got the wind knocked out of him, but was still able to see Sonic above him.

Whatever the wire did short-circuited the bot and seemed to do the trick: the hold on Sonic released enough to give him the momentum he needed, and the hedgehog somehow spindashed in place, his sharp quills slicing the grabby bot up into metallic shreds.

He somersaulted back to the ground rather gracefully considering the circumstances, shaking his arms out and glaring daggers at the ceiling. A moment passed before he looked back to Tails, his eyes still sharp.

"What the _hell_, Tails?!" he asked, his voice a mix between waning adrenaline and exasperation. Regardless, he approached the fox and offered his hand out to him.

Tails slowly pulled himself up on his elbows, a pang of guilt settling into his stomach. "I'm sorry, I thought you heard what—"

Sonic impatiently waved his hand again, motioning for Tails to reach out. The little fox stopped his sentence and obliged, allowing the hero to pull him back to his feet. Before he could rebalance, Sonic pulled the vulpine farther away from the spiny bots that apparently had still been a little too close for comfort, and back to their original rest spot by the shafts.

With the release of his arm, the fox absently rubbed at it, his ears folding back guiltily. He started again with, "I'm sorry, I—"

"Sorry doesn't cut it out here," Sonic interrupted with tight words. "If you want to tag along then you need to stay close and follow my lead."

"But—"

Sonic growled again, though this time his focus had already shifted back to the task at hand. "Look, let's just take this one and—"

"Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog finally paused, glancing over to the fox with only minute surprise. "Will you listen to me?" Tails added at a lower volume, the stress from the battle earlier keeping his own voice strained.

When the hero didn't respond but kept eye contact, Tails took it as good of an indication as any: "I was trying to get to that spiny bot over there—I can see if he is connected to a network, and if he is I might be able to pull some shematics—"

"What?"

"Shematics? You know, a map?"

Sonic, despite his previous attitude, snickered. "I think you mean schematics, buddy."

The fox felt his cheeks redden and he glanced away for a second. "Okay, schematics. But I can see where those two shafts lead so we're not just stuck in this maze." There was a pause in his words as he debated asking his next question, but ultimately went for it: "Sonic, why does it have an 'h' in the word but then you don't use it when you say it?"

The blue hedgehog simply shrugged. "Keed, that's just the language for you."

"Is there a book that tells you how to say stuff?"

Sonic paused as he looked at Tails, his expression unreadable. He eventually blinked and a small frown crossed his features, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. He walked over to the fox and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure there is, bud, but we'll worry about that later." He kneeled down so he was eye level with the fox.

"I'm sorry about earlier, too."

Tails shook his head. "No, I—"

"You told me what you were going to do and I didn't listen. Gonna be honest with you big guy, I'm not used to having someone tagging along with me. Doesn't mean I don't like it, I do—" the hedgehog squeezed Tails' shoulder reassuringly, seemingly reading Tails' own feelings on the subject, "but it really is going to take some getting used to."

The fox watched the hero, contemplating his words and demeanor. From a week ago to now, Tails had never imagined his life changing the way it had. Before him was someone who fed him, talked to him, wasn't afraid of the curse everyone said was on him, and even _liked_ his tails. He had a friend.

The vulpine nodded, unsure of what to say, or if words were really even necessary. His eyes briefly glanced to the side, behind him, and Sonic stood up and followed his gaze. "All right keed, I'll draw its fire and you take a look inside."

Tails nodded, quickly turning around and waiting. Sure enough, when the hedgehog approached the spiny bot (or, in all honestly, sped to the other side of it), the robot took its slow aim and sporadic firing in that direction, completely oblivious to the fox on its other side.

Said fox wasted no time in springing up to it and peering below the spikes.

Robotnik's designs were very similar on a fundamental level, and Tails' study of the machines over the past year had given him some solid comparisons to exploit. Granted, this spiny guy was different—in what way was an immobile robot useful?—but he nevertheless found the paneling by pulling on one of the spikes that wasn't as sharp and was in fact a hidden compartment on the chassis. Inside he found a small screen, low resolution, and control keys. His eyes lit up with his natural curiosity, because while this was all very familiar, the other robots in the salvage yard were always offline, and this guy was definitely not.

"Tails?"

The call was not answered, but he hurried in his actions, quickly entering the network to pull up what he could with the small screen. Since this robot was immobile it knew its exact location within the facility, so all Tails needed was the immediate vicinity, maybe the sector?—

"Tails buddy, come on, we can just—"

"Which direction for the Chaos Emerald?" Tails interrupted, his eyes never wavering from the screen.

A pause. "Uh, south, maybe southwest."

Sonic was fast and, by nature, this also made him impatient. Even with so little time with his new friend Tails had realized that, and he knew he had to be fast too to keep up with him. He would.

He would prove himself and he would not be a burden.

He typed in a couple commands and, with only a few slow seconds of processing, happily replied, "Second tunnel!"

He closed the paneling and jumped away before the robot could turn his aim on him. Sonic followed suit, zooming over next to Tails and pointing to the tunnel in question. "This one?" he asked.

"Yup!" Tails confirmed proudly.

"All right keed, hang on!"

With an already acquainted grab of the wrist, Tails steeled himself for the sudden pull and velocity of Sonic's running, this time grabbing the hedgehog's arm with his other hand as well, to keep close within the tight ventilation shaft.

They traversed downwards and would have been technically falling if it wasn't for the hero's speed along the tunnel walls. They curved, dipped upwards and left, then right, and back down again before blasting through a grating and slamming to a stop so fast that Tails rammed into his friend.

Sonic's wide stance held strong, though, and he only moved forward a step or two, pushing back immediately.

Tails, still dizzy, glanced around his arm and realized why they had careened to a halt: pinkish, purplish runoff water impregnated the lower level of the facility, sloshing and oozing along partially covered railings and overflowing multiple sewer lines. The smell was atrocious, like a mix of oil and acid that burned the eyes with its accosting fumes.

The fox cub instinctively coughed, glancing at the surrounding area that, aside from the eerie glow of pink, was shrouded in darkness. Was it nighttime already, or was the factory that devoid of sunlight?

"Up there," Sonic breathed. Tails looked up at him and followed his hard stare with his own eyes. Across the way, resting by itself along a railing, was a blue gemstone, pulsating but nearly drowned out by the pink hue of everything else.

It was quieter down here, more so than in the rest of the working plant. A foreboding feeling told Tails it wasn't just because they appeared to be where the chemical waste was stored. He took a shaky breath, his fur standing on end and his ears pointed high, straining to hear all sounds.

"Sonic, I don't think this water is safe," Tails voiced the obvious, glancing back at the ground and realizing how close their feet were to the questionable liquid. He realized then that he hadn't released the blue hedgehog's arm and quickly did so, slightly embarrassed. He needed to be brave.

Sonic hadn't removed his gaze from the faraway jewel, and as Tails watched him he appeared tense, even unsure, of something.

Finally he said, "Stay here, buddy. Back in a flash."

Tails watched as Sonic ran and jumped, landing on the first dry part of the railing. He calculated and jumped again, slowly making his way over to the Chaos Emerald taunting them from the other side.

The fox quickly realized that he should have gone; he could've just flown over—

A bubbling sound erupted from the pink runoff, and from beneath its surface Robotnik appeared, his flying egg-shaped mobile connected to a strong pipe that went below the water. His adapted contraption came upon Sonic fast, sending a wave of the chemical waste towards him.

With no time to spare, Sonic jumped and moved to a dry spot of the railing, watching as his previous location was engulfed in pink water.

The lid on Robotnik's mobile slid open, drops of pink liquid splashing as it was flung off the hovering aircraft. Without the protective cover, Tails could see the heavyset man better, his bald head shining and supporting Tails' earlier description of the evil scientist.

"Oh ho ho, Sonic, fancy meeting you here," Robotnik practically cooed.

"Stuff it, _Egghead_!"

There was a long pause, Robotnik's back to Tails and Sonic's classic grin nearly breaking into outright laughter. The little fox took the opportunity to take flight silently, his tails barely making any noise over Robotnik's weird machine idling.

"_What_ did you call me?!"

Tails, nearly over Robotnik but still behind him, could hear the indignation in his tone and Sonic, at that point, did bust out laughing.

"Oh man, Eggman, your face!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

There was an explosion, albeit small, but Tails yipped when his sensitive ears ringed from it and he quickly flew to the left to see what had happened.

Something solid and blue had been launched out of Robotnik's device, and apparently exploded upon contact. Sonic had jumped out of the way, but the mad doctor shot again, sending more of the blue stuff at the hero and forcing him to play hot potato along the ever-changing dry parts of the railings, pink liquid sloshing in waves with each movement from Robotnik.

"Keep it up, rodent, and we'll just see who gains the upper hand."

Tails had seen Robotnik's direction before he even spoke to Sonic. The little fox quickly closed the remaining distance, flying by the surprised evil doctor and launching himself onto the railing, grabbing the blue Chaos Emerald with both hands along the way. He somersaulted afterwards once, landed upright but with forward momentum, and without the availability of his hands to steady himself, landed face-first in the metal floor.

"It flies?!" he heard Robotnik exclaim loudly.

The fox in question scrambled back up, still holding the blue jewel with both hands. He couldn't comfortably hold it with one hand, and if he dropped it into that disgusting water there would be no way for him or Sonic to retrieve it.

Finally standing and turning around, Tails found himself face-to-face with Robotnik in his mobile. He grinned maliciously at the fox and, more poignantly, at the blue Chaos Emerald in his possession.

A brief glance to the side told him that Robotnik was keeping Sonic busy with the blue goop he was shooting at the hero. Tails gulped at that, his eyes widening even more as he looked back at the doctor.

"I suggest you hand over that emerald, fox boy," Robotnik growled.

Tails' breaths were shallow and fast, and he quickly studied his surroundings. His mind became fuzzy, though, and his thoughts were garbled. He tried to refocus, shaking his head, and Robotnik's glare told him he had answered the doctor without even meaning to.

"Very well, you little circus act, let's see how fast you are."

The blue stuff, shooting erratically at Sonic, turned direction and aimed for him. He yelped and scrambled backwards on the railing as the first of the blue spheres hit, exploding on contact and sending smaller pieces of the substance flying.

He avoided most of it, but as he turned around a small piece hit his tail and it _burned_. His yelp turned into a howl, but he stayed upright, shaking his affected tail violently to get the piece of blue lava off of him.

There was a holler and a crash behind him, but Tails needed to get to the air and ignored it. Aside from the burn that was still burning like crazy, his tail was still functional and he spun them, lifting off the railing and gaining height before risking a glance below.

Sonic was spindashing into the vertical pipe holding Robotnik's mobile repeatedly, making sure to time his landings with the rhythmic waves of pink poison he was producing. The mad doctor had turned his sights—and the blue goop—towards Sonic, but by that point the pipe holding his mobile broke, the attached gun that was shooting the blue lava-like substance breaking off and falling into the pink lake of doom.

Robotnik yelled, his face red with rage, but he was able to detach his eggmobile before the whole thing went under, cursing as he sped away from the scene. Sonic jumped like he was going to give chase, but was instead trapped in the middle of the mini tsunami being generated from the broken contraption currently sinking.

Tails, still flying and holding the blue stone, quickly dropped it back on the railing before descending to the lower level.

"Sonic!" he called out, his arms reaching for him.

The blue hedgehog, having just jumped again to avoid a wave, looked up and leapt without hesitation. He grabbed both of Tails' outstretched hands and the fox was abruptly pulled down before he adjusted for the hero's weight by increasing his rotation. With a grunt the flying fox lifted Sonic away from the dangerous area and deposited him on the railing, where the blue Chaos Emerald lay waiting.

Breathing heavily, Tails landed next to him, his hands resting on his knees. He had carried Sonic farther, when they had been chased into the ocean, but Tails had theorized the purple Chaos Emerald had helped him out.

Sonic was in possession of it now, but it was still close by, so it should've helped here, too. And yet, for some reason, Tails couldn't shake the feeling that its energy was no longer his to use.

Strong arms lifted him up and, before Tails could even register what was going on, he felt the wind on his back, pushing him into Sonic because he was facing the wrong way. The hedgehog was going fast, faster than he had before with Tails in tow, and all the fox could do was burrow his face into Sonic's shoulder because the g-forces strained his neck otherwise.

The pungent chemical smells gave way to oil and grease, and then the industrial smells dissipated into a thick, mossy smell. As Sonic finally slowed down and the scenery around them became distinguishable, Tails noticed that the chemical plant and old city were nothing but an outline in the early evening hours. The blue hero came to a stop, lowering Tails to the ground as he did so.

The fox stumbled from the trip, his body still reeling from the sheer force it had felt from the speed of their travel. Sonic grasped under his arm again to steady him, and at the same time knelt to look at the fox at eye level.

"Where were you hurt?" he asked, his voice oddly tense.

Tails blinked, still on the slow side of comprehension. An involuntary flick of his tail coaxed the answer out of him: "Some blue stuff burned my tail, but it's okay now."

"Let me see."

Recognizing this tone from earlier, when he had inspected Tails' injury in his cave, the little fox gave in easily enough and showed the hedgehog the wound, grabbing at the tail to steady it once it was in view.

Tails used a hand to brush aside the fur, though it was pretty obvious regardless: the fur itself was singed, and a small bald spot showed the skin red with a couple blisters.

Overall it was small, no larger than two fingertips, and was only tender to the touch.

Sonic, of course, opted to probe at it and elicited an instinctual whine from Tails. "It's just sore," he insisted when Sonic looked up with concern.

"Hmm," he acknowledged, still inspecting it.

"It's just a burn," Tails added.

No response.

"Sonic?" he finally asked, realizing the hedgehog was looking at his tail but obviously not seeing it anymore.

A deep sigh escaped the blue Mobian as he stood back up. "Kiddo…." He trailed off, the tension in his voice only growing stronger. He looked to the ground then, his eyes appearing almost shut as he avoided eye contact.

Tails recognized the tone, and the look. He had heard it in other voices before, and seen it in their expressions, though at the time it was expected. They had wanted his ingenuity but worried about their reputation. They needed their stuff fixed, had to give him something in return, and fretted over the connotations of it. They were helping the curse of Shoreside, after all.

But Tails could still hear it in their voices, just as he heard it now. But this time it scared him, and it made him so mad because the blue hedgehog had _promised_.

The sound of regret could not be masked, though.

The little fox gripped his injured tail tightly, on either side of the burn, and swallowed heavily. "I'm sorry I messed up," he finally offered.

Sonic did not look up, but started with, "You didn't mess—"

"I'm sorry I got you trapped and I'm sorry some of the blue stuff hit me." Tails took in a shaky breath and continued before Sonic could respond: "Please don't leave me. I promise I'll get stronger. I will keep practicing, and I will try really hard not to get hurt and—"

His voice had gotten progressively higher, hitching on fear and tears, before he stopped when Sonic came over and placed both of his hands on either side of the fox's shoulders.

"It's okay, buddy," Sonic soothed as he looked at the fox with a smile, even with an obvious storm in his eyes. "I'm not leaving you. You didn't do anything wrong. Okay?"

The hedgehog waited, watching, and Tails read the sincerity in his expression, even as the hero's eyes told him he was still conflicted. But he couldn't bring himself to ask why. He was just so damn scared of messing up and it being the final straw to losing everything he had gained this past week.

So he simply nodded.

* * *

Carefree was a double-edged sword. Word? Whatever.

It insinuated that freedom meant you were without any cares, which was by and large a ridiculously fat lie. Sonic had a lot of cares in this world. He valued not only his freedom, but everyone else's freedom, too.

He cared about justice. Some Mobians and people didn't deserve freedom, for past actions and atrocities that they had to be held accountable for. He would fight Robotnik to his dying breath to ensure that man could not live out his delusions of grandeur: a tyrannical reign of the world and its inhabitants completely enslaved by robots or robotosized creatures.

Or maybe Sonic just misunderstood the word. Sure, it meant being without a care in the world. But then why was it always used to describe the famous blue "hero" of Mobius that had saved South Island? He couldn't be carefree by definition; he obviously _cared_ about the damn island and making sure Robotnik couldn't complete his plans of conquest.

In present time Sonic stoked the fire in front of him more aggressively than necessary. He watched as a piece of wood buckled, breaking in half and falling between other sticks, its black smoldering remnants crackling with their last breaths.

It was not cold. They were on the outskirts of a swamp, Aquatic Ruins according to Tails. He would've asked how the five-year-old even knew that, but thought better of it. Of all the tricks the kid had up his sleeve, Sonic would have been least impressed by an eidetic memory. The fox cub probably memorized a geography book or map that he looked at once. No, the fire was for light and comfort, and at one point to warm up the food Sonic had retrieved from the city they had just left. Right now they were settled in for the night, sitting on opposite sides of the fire that was really the only conversationalist of the night, with the mossy grass as their beds.

The two Mobians had barely spoken to one another since they got here, thanks to Sonic's overarching feeling of utter regret. He had made a stupid, _stupid_ promise to the fox kit sitting across from him and had placed himself in what he would classify as the exact opposite of carefree, and more akin to a rock and a hard place.

Fans called him carefree because he was never tied to anything, he realized bitterly. They didn't know his past and only knew of his actions as the speedy blue hedgehog that had stopped Robotnik. That hedgehog was never spotted with friends, family, or anything else that fell on the spectrum of relationships. So that meant he was carefree, running around the world and enjoying the freedom of, essentially, being alone.

He might've not had a family anymore, and he might've not had any friends either, but it angered Sonic that they assumed he would shove those potential relationships into the spotlight so easily. Even if he did have them, he would keep them quiet to protect them from people like Robotnik.

His digressive thoughts reminded him of the first real friend he did have, sitting before him. Sonic glanced up, through the fire, and saw Tails looking at him, his expression heavily shadowed by the surrounding night. When he saw Sonic return his gaze the kit brought his sights back to the fire.

Sonic sighed. So much for keeping friends safe: he had practically giftwrapped Tails for Robotnik's extortion.

Returning his own gaze to the fire, Sonic stoked it again, though with less force than earlier. He'd be stupid if he didn't admit that he cared for Tails. Of course he did. The kid was amazing, strong, _fast_, a genius, had—oh yeah—saved his life, and was actually good company when Sonic wasn't being completely emo on him.

But the internal battle was strong. Despite all of those things he was still _five_. Years. Old. He was a child, a child without a family and in need of love and care and he silently cursed to himself because Sonic wasn't sure he could ever provide the amount the kid deserved, much less make up for the last year the cub was forced to experience.

It was a self-battle that made the so-called hero feel like he was being torn apart. He didn't want to break his promise. But this was a _war_ and he had found himself treating the kid like a freaking solider today, yelling at him because Tails didn't make sure Sonic was listening to him.

And now, to top it all off, he was pretty terrible at hiding his internal conflict because Tails thought he was walking on eggshells, one step away from being dumped at the nearest bus stop.

Sonic let another big sigh out, forcing his shoulders to relax as he leaned forward, his legs crossed beneath him. A little thought started nagging him suddenly, and he delusionally wondered if it was the Chaos Emeralds' doing.

The thought was like a plague, though, and within seconds engulfed his inner monologue. Perhaps he wasn't afraid of placing Tails in danger. That was a great cover-up, though: bigtime hero fighting another battle to save the world, so of course he couldn't have ties to anything that could eventually be used against him.

No, that wasn't why he was conflicted. He was conflicted because the world was right and he was a carefree hedgehog; a loner.

Until now.

And _that_, Sonic realized, gave him two ugly truths: they had been right, painfully right, and now they were equally, painfully wrong.


	5. Aquatic Ruins

Note: Sonic 2's Chaos Emeralds were in special zones, but I opted to keep them in the level environment for this story. My idea for each level was to take elements of them and keep to a more realistic setting (relatively speaking of course, seeing as though this is a video game adaptation :3). Some levels may be more true to form, and some may take a detour (or three). Honestly, I just have a lot of fun writing these and kinda let it go as it sees fit.

Also, a big thank you to the reviewers! Adaptations are a challenge to me because the story is already written and you just gotta find a way to make a piece of it your own. I'm glad others are at least enjoying the ride, as well. :)

* * *

_Aquatic Ruins_

* * *

"How's your tail?"

The namesakes in question twitched and the fox glanced back at the bandage that wrapped two inches on one of them. When Sonic had returned to the city to get dinner, he had also purchased a small first aid kit to treat Tails' injury.

It wasn't bad, thankfully, but better safe than sorry. Tails' appendage looked a bit silly, though, with how fluffy the fur on either side of the bandage stuck out, almost like an inverted mohawk.

"It feels much better," Tails answered quietly. Reservedly.

Sonic sighed for the umpteenth time that morning. After an awkward night that was only followed by restless sleep, the blue hedgehog had awoken to a new day and, by proxy, newfound courage to make this work.

He shut out the negativity in his mind regarding bringing a kid into the foray that also classified as his life, and instead opted to remind himself what he had originally thought, but mostly felt, when he had offered Tails a place to stay:

_Protect him_.

So, with that positive frame of mind, Sonic paid no heed to the amount of freaking _water_ in this swamp and led Tails around the majority of it, despite the Chaos Emerald's pull that was so obviously telling him it was somewhere in the center of this ancient, ruined city, mostly likely at the bottom of some watery grave.

And the normally inquisitive fox had kept mum on the subject, following the hedgehog without argument.

There were spots Sonic saw that could potentially be reached with flying, but he was hesitant to ask Tails with his current injury. He had also hesitated asking Tails to retrieve the Chaos Emerald from that chemical plant yesterday, though he was glad for that overtaking of pride since Robotnik decided to attack at that point.

Sonic was probably prideful to a fault and asking anyone for help when it came to water was a big no-no in his book of idiosyncrasies.

"Sonic?"

The voice was hesitant. The hedgehog in question glanced briefly behind him. "Yeah?"

"I think the water is safe here."

No, it's really not, Sonic wanted to say, but he instead just grimaced and stopped, turning towards some rather large totem poles up ahead. "Yeah," he finally answered, searching the area for the best dry path available, which was unfortunately nonexistent.

Tails walked up closer and, when Sonic looked down at him, saw the little fox studying the amplifier Sonic still wore on his wrist. "It looks like we need to go that way," Tails pointed in the same direction Sonic had been studying. "And hmm, we might have to look underwater, but I know you said you can't swim. I can go!" he offered, a lilt in his voice showing him gaining his confidence again.

For that, the hedgehog provided a genuine smile. "Sure, Tails. Let's try and get directly above it first, though."

Sonic led the way, his quills instantly bristling with agitation as his feet became wet along the flooded pathway. Broken buildings left debris strewn about, and occasionally they were able to get above the water, which was honestly Sonic's only saving grace when it came to his fried nerves.

The pull became stronger as they travelled to the center of the city remnants. As they waded through, the noises of the swamp—the locusts, the crickets, the birds—suddenly quieted down. The hedgehog's sixth sense alarmed and he slowed down his walk, his previous splashing becoming light swooshing.

_WOMP_

They both heard it, as Tails' ears twitched at the same time that Sonic's hand grabbed the fox's arm, yanking him a foot to the left, towards him. At the same time an arrow whizzed by, landing into a nearby tree with a resounding _thunk_.

Neither Mobian said anything, both looking at the lodged arrow that was at Tails' head height, and then back to where it came from.

A totem pole off in the distance had a skull and crossbones for one of its many symbols, and—watching it carefully—Sonic raised his arm to where Tails had been walking previously. Sure enough, the skull's eye sockets eerily glowed red.

_WOMP_

The arrow came out of its mouth, following the same trajectory and landing about an inch below the first arrow. Tails, standing on Sonic's other side now, watched in stunned silence.

"Let's, uh, keep an eye out for the skulls on the totem poles, shall we?"

Tails nodded.

Their continued trek through the ancient ruins proved to be much more tense than anticipated, as it seemed to be a totem pole around every corner, the skull and crossbones at a different height each time, some broken and toppled over but somehow still functioning, and absolutely annoying with their constant _WOMP. _How an ancient civilization had booby traps that outlasted the city was beyond Sonic, and a part of him wondered just how many arrows each totem pole had stored.

Nonetheless they were obvious in their stone-like detail, and relatively easy to anticipate and sidestep with their telltale sound. Sonic was more put out by the knee-deep water he was trudging through, seaweed or some other waterlogged plants rubbing against his legs as he walked, and the outside humidity bringing home the overall number one hated environment for the blue speedster of Mobius.

Yup, this was awful.

Tails' ears twitched as he walked next to the hedgehog, and Sonic looked over to him when he stopped, the water at the kit's waist with his height. Sonic also took note that the little fox was panting, probably due to the heat and humidity that seemed to be heavy enough to cut with a knife.

"More arrows?" Sonic asked when Tails just kept listening. The hedgehog strained but did not have quite the hearing power that the fox did.

Tails shook his head, but his tails flicked in agitation behind him, the appendages barely grazing the water as the fox made an effort of keeping them high and dry. As Sonic glanced at them he saw them stop in sudden fear, fur standing on end and matching the wide eyes of their owner.

Just at that point Sonic finally heard it, too: buzzing.

A _lot_ of buzzing.

Speed and or battling wasn't exactly an option right now. Water slowed everyone down, and with how much debris there was, it was one wrong step to go from waist-deep to six floors deep. Sonic grabbed Tails' arm, pulling him up the nearest fallen wall that was slanted enough to climb. The buzzing got louder and the hedgehog and fox duo turned around at the source of the noise.

Around the corner came small flying robotic insects—flies?—and they knew exactly where they were going. With increasing speed they charged, sending Sonic and Tails on a dangerous escape path unwillingly.

This was worse than the forest. Shrubbery and trees were one thing, but flooded floors, broken walls and buildings leading to underground, under_water_ taverns was a bit too much. Sonic tried to use his speed where he could, but it wasn't often, and Tails had opted to take to the air at the first chance he got, making his path much less hindered.

The hedgehog had considered asking for a ride, but the reality was there wasn't much up above them to retreat to. They were as high as they could get, with the majority of the city apparently being built below the ground. Perhaps in ancient times the surrounding environment was not swamp, because otherwise Sonic had a pretty good idea about what the civilization's downfall was….

The buzzing was a swarm now, and one pesky little guy managed to get ahead and nip at Sonic, all claws and electrical currents.

"OUCH!" he cried out when it scratched at one of his quills, sending a brief electric shock through the half-drenched hedgehog. He jumped to spindash and knocked the fly off its course, sending it backwards into three brethren and creating a nice rippling effect of tumbling.

"Sonic!"

Don't say it, don't say it, don't—

"The water!"

—sigh—say it. Unacceptable words flitted through his mind, but Sonic realized begrudgingly that it was probably their best course of action. He could maybe find somewhere shallow, hang out there until the swarm went away because surely these stupid robots can't swim, and then send Tails to get the Chaos Emerald and get the hell out of here.

Because _that_ didn't sound like whining in his head.

If they were going to do it, they were going to do it near the Chaos Emerald. Sonic honed in on the pull, because there really didn't seem to be another word for it, and let his feet guide them that direction. As he navigated ahead he only occasionally risked a glimpse to his side, to ensure Tails was keeping pace. The flying kit did not seem to have much issue keeping up, though that was probably because Sonic was forced to go so much slower than usual.

He ran up a broken totem pole, too fast for the arrow that shot out of it, and jumped over another broken wall, this time traipsing over the improvised bridge of flat stone chunks. The emerald was just a little bit more east and, looking around, it seemed that they had entered a more formal area of the city, possibly what was once the center square of the lost culture. Simple totem poles became a lot more ornate and large, albeit still dilapidated, and the stone gave way for broken marble.

The marble was what did him in.

The hedgehog sped up a set of pretty stairs, across a short but large platform of some kind, and back down another set of stairs. The roof was long gone now, but apparently they had entered a temple, because the stairs that he was going down were suddenly much steeper and much deeper than the previous set, leading into a giant pool that looked like it may have been a stage at one time.

And that was when Sonic learned his natural brakes did not work on marble that was slick with moss and water. He tried—oh did he try—flailing about with every limb he had, an embarrassing squeal escaping his mouth before he could stop it, and still belly flopping into the water with as much grace as a spaghetti noodle missing its eater's mouth.

The water was cool, and he had to admit a little refreshing after being out in the hot humidity all day, but his brain disagreed and told his body to go rigid with fear. He was sinking, his eyes open wide in the relatively clear water, but he only went down about a foot before small hands got under his arms and pulled him back up so his head bobbed above the surface.

He gasped and took in a huge gulp of air, breathing erratically and still stiff as a board. His imitation of a concrete pole was probably not helping Tails, who was currently trying to keep both of them afloat. The fox was paddling backwards, an arm still tucked under one of Sonic's own as they travelled the length of the makeshift pond. Eventually the hedgehog in-tow dared a brief glance at where they were headed, seeing a small overhang on the far side that was shadowing the area quite well.

Tails panted but kept quiet as he swam, and the nearby buzzing told Sonic why. He looked back in that direction and saw the insects hovering where they had just been, relatively aimless in their movements. They were definitely searching, but apparently were not equipped with great vision or tracking if they couldn't see the two Mobian heads making ripples in the giant pool.

Thankfully, Tails hadn't been lying when he said he was a fast swimmer. In no time they were under the overhang (which was really just more debris) and tucked into its corner. The fox kept a hold of the wall's lip with one hand to rest his legs, but kept his other arm hold on Sonic.

Sonic's body, meanwhile, felt like a set mousetrap, pulled taut and ready to snap at any sudden movement. His hands were in balled fists, his arms and legs straight out, and his muscles screamed at the tension. He couldn't even move to grab the wall that Tails was holding on to. Why oh why _oh why_ did it have to be water?

The hum of flapping wings dissipated after a while, though Sonic couldn't say how long. Seconds felt like an eternity when you were trying not to scream. But their lack of movement stilled the water, the shadow of the outcropping hid their whereabouts, and eventually the angry little swarm of insects left.

Along the same wavelength of realization, Tails let go of his hold on the wall and began swimming Sonic back to the stairs, slower than Sonic wanted but quiet enough to ensure no stragglers heard their return.

Sonic saw the edge, glistening in afternoon sunlight, beckoning him. He almost started helping—you just kick your legs to swim, right?—but decided against it, letting the professional (child) do the job instead. Sometimes irrational fears really make a fool out of you.

...And sometimes, they are born of trauma.

What exactly happened Sonic wasn't sure. There was a gasp, just enough for air, followed by a splash, and suddenly the blue hedgehog was sinking.

His eyes opened wide in terror, his arms flailed uselessly, and the refreshing coolness of the pool became a shroud of ice, needles painfully poking into every inch of his skin.

Think think think _think—!_

He wanted to take a deep breath but knew better. He needed to stop moving because that was just creating bubbles and making it where he couldn't see a damn thing. Where was Tails? He willed his body to stiffen again and his slow sinking became fast sinking.

The makeshift pool was not deep where he was and it took only a couple seconds before he found his feet touching one of the numerous marble steps. He was facing the wrong way, so he used the edge of the step to turn around, looking back for the fox cub that had disappeared.

In the relatively clear water and against the outside sun, Sonic could easily make out Tails struggling with a fish: a robotic one with gigantic teeth. He was pushing and pulling on it, and with focus Sonic realized that the chomping robot had gotten a hold of one of Tails' feet.

_Take the shoe off!_ Sonic wanted to scream. Maybe the fox was trying to, he couldn't exactly tell what the vulpine was trying to do from this distance underwater. But a pang of fear, not just for himself, began to steadily rise when the fish decided to bolt with its new mouthful, Tails getting pulled with it despite his best attempts. It was going deeper, down the stairs of the temple and out of sight.

They were both going to die if Sonic didn't figure this swimming thing out and fast.

Okay, no one learns to swim that fast. Sonic needed to improvise. He was the fastest Mobian alive and he was _not_ going to become a part of this stupid ancient city that obviously didn't learn about the geography before building their underground paradise.

Screw this.

Anger was his motivation when Sonic bent down and spun, using his spindash like revving a car's engine with the parking brake on. He released it and bolted forward, not like a bullet on land but fast enough to get back to where the overhang had been, sinking lower as the steps beneath his feet had continued to descend.

That feeling of dropping threatened to turn him into a thrashing, panicked mess again but he pushed it away, letting himself sink and focusing on the light he could barely see below. Through the distortion of water was some kind of archway leading to another room beyond. Why was there light?

No matter. Tails was there; he could see the kid and the chompy fish bot, the latter pulling what he thought was his meal ticket back through that large doorway. The fox was flailing his arms, trying to grab at anything to slow his dive but to no avail. Sonic's teeth clenched as his feet _finally_ hit marble steps and he revved again, propelling himself forward.

The stairs ended and the ground levelled out as his spinning slowed and he sank once more. Through the archway Sonic could see Tails pushing against the fish bot, the panic evident in his movements as he tried to free his foot. He looked over and saw Sonic, his eyes wide.

Sonic spindashed in place again with as much energy as he could muster, his air reserve depleting rapidly. He released his spin and bolted forward, aim true as he landed into the machine, crumpling it even underwater and moving at a fraction of his normal velocity.

Despite the light clearly filtering through the water in this room, Sonic felt his vision dangerously darken. Hands grabbed under his arms and pulled him up, away from the now defunct robot sinking in the water. His lungs burned and he wanted to breathe in _anything_—

They broke the surface of the water, both gulping the stale air above like it was the first breath of life. Sonic coughed and splashed, his lungs aching and angry from being denied so long. Tails steadied him above the surface of the water with his arm and began pulling them both to the other side of the room, opposite from where they had come from.

When Sonic felt the ground brush against his back he shakily turned around and Tails released him, allowing the hedgehog to crawl up the stairs (so many _stairs_) until he was finally, utterly, completely out of the water.

Glancing next to him showed Tails looking like a drowned rat, not even bothering to shake off as he pulled himself out of the water. He collapsed next to the hedgehog on his back, still gasping for air. Sonic offhandedly noted how skinny the fox cub was beneath all that fluff of fur, but had somehow dragged his butt out of the water. Again.

Together the two Mobians took their time to recuperate on the stairs, staring up at a huge dome-shaped roof. It was made of the same marble and quite solid, with only a few cracks disrupting its original design. Rows of coffered ceilings and moldings of vines and grapes decorated the edges. At one time Sonic imagined they were probably colorful as well, but time had worn down the paints that used to bring life to the architecture.

The light—sunlight—came from there as well, from those cracks lining the ceiling. The rays were spread out and created peaceful beams across what must've been a large auditorium at one point. Whatever this place was had been beautiful, at least when it hadn't been half-covered in water and moss.

"Sonic?"

The hedgehog in question, his breathing still heavy, tilted his head to the little fox. "Yeah, bud?"

"Thank you."

The hedgehog smiled at his charge. "Same back at ya, kiddo." He paused and uncharacteristically groaned as he sat up, muscles protesting at him every inch of the way. "How's your foot?" he asked, remembering the events leading them down to this hidden cavern.

The afflicted foot shifted, and Sonic noted that the top of Tails' shoe had decided to separate from the sole. Granted, the state of his other shoe wasn't the greatest so it wasn't like the fish robot made mincemeat out of it, but it was definitely not going to last much longer.

Thankfully, Sonic did not see any blood.

"He didn't have a sharp bite," Tails answered, almost reading Sonic's thoughts as he inspected the shoe. "But he had a strong grip," he lamented, rubbing the foot between the seams absently.

"You okay to walk?"

Tails nodded. He went to take off the crumpling shoe but Sonic stopped him.

"Here," he said, reaching over and pulling out the shoe's laces. With the string free of the shoe's tongue, Sonic wrapped it around the sole and top of the footwear, effectively tying the shoe to its owner's foot. When the lace was near taut Sonic tied a double knot to keep it in place. "This should hold it until we get you a new pair," he finished, inspecting the hold to make sure there were no loose areas.

"Thanks," the fox kid said again, albeit much more quietly.

Taking the opportunity to finally stand, Sonic carefully made his way up the last few steps, away from the cursed waters. Glancing ahead, he noted that more sunlight filtered out of a large archway ahead, though what lay beyond could not be seen. Regardless, the ever-present pull of the Chaos Emeralds told Sonic the next gemstone lay just beyond.

The sound of splattering filled his ears, causing them to twitch towards its origin, and Sonic turned around to see Tails also standing, shaking off the water that drenched his fur coat. When he was done he approached the blue hedgehog, absently pulling and wringing out his tails while staring at the doorway ahead.

"Emerald's this way," Sonic confirmed the unasked question, tilting his head and beginning the walk towards the hallway.

Tails had paused in his actions but ended up running a couple steps to catch up. "Hey, Sonic?"

"Hmm," Sonic barely acknowledged, his eyes set on the doorway and the blinding sunlight filtering through.

"Are you afraid of water?"

Understatement of the year, kid.

Sonic paused as he stole a glance at his friend, noticing how Tails avoided eye contact. Out loud he answered, "Yeah, Tails. I am."

"Oh." The kit did look back up at him then, but Sonic opted to avoid eye contact this time. "That's okay. If I couldn't swim I think I'd be scared, too."

The hedgehog let out a breathy laugh. "I think it's the other way around. I haven't been able to learn to swim because I'm afraid of water."

"Oh," Tails said again, though with a much different inflection. "But why?"

Innocence personified. Tails was strong and smart and brave like no other, but every once in a while that five-year-old slipped out of him.

"Kinda hard to explain," Sonic replied simply. "I know that water isn't that scary, but I'm still scared. And that makes me avoid it whenever I can."

Tails was all eyes as he listened to the hedgehog, his walk slowing even as Sonic kept his pace and started gaining distance. After a moment to reflect he snapped out of it and ran up to the hero again. "I have one of those fears," he admitted solemnly.

This caught Sonic's attention and he slowed. "Oh?"

The fox bobbed his head. "I don't like thunder."

Sonic's head quirked slightly, but he resisted asking any more questions. After all, he did equate it to Sonic's phobia of water, and the hedgehog sure as hell couldn't explain to someone how that came about. So he shrugged instead.

"Well you know, rain usually comes with thunder, so me and you will steer clear of storms. Sound good?"

There was a relief in Tails' smile that told Sonic that his fear of thunder was no joke. As they brought their pace back up through the hallway, their eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlight and they could see a large open space beyond, grass on the floor but stone walls along the sides.

The first breeze from the outside air filtered through the tunnel they were in and Sonic breathed it in deeply. They had gone so deep underwater and had been in some lower level of a temple, but now they were walking out on to some sort of field outside….

When they finally exited and stood in the open space, Sonic realized exactly why that was.

They were at the entrance to a long field of overgrown grass, with rows and rows and _rows_ of stone benches surrounding them on all sides, raised high like bleachers for a stadium. Surrounding the highest sections of seats were trees, similar to the ones he'd seen before their trip into the water, which told Sonic that this giant arena was built _into_ the ground.

"Colloseum," Tails breathed out, and Sonic was inclined to agree.

However, its majestic architecture was darkened by the columns that lined the field, at their level:

Totem poles.

There had to have been a hundred or more of them, split on either side, barely spaced out but with skulls and crossbones on each of them, some with multiple faces, and all aimed at each other.

It was a walk of death.

The columns were tall, taller than he remembered the ones in the ruins outside. Of course, those were a lot more dilapidated than the ones in here; how did this place, so far below the sea level, survive this long?

Taking a steady breath, Sonic glanced at Tails' amplifier on his wrist more out of habit than need, confirming that the emerald was somewhere straight ahead and between these murder walls. With nothing but grass on the floor, though, it must've been slightly buried to not be seen in the late afternoon daylight.

"I can fly," Tails offered, startling Sonic out of his observations. The hedgehog looked at him in consideration.

"Emerald's somewhere in the middle though," he admitted. "Maybe you can take the amplifier, fly above to pinpoint where, and—"

A heavy motor sound made its presence known, quiet but getting loud fast. Both Sonic and Tails looked up high as Robotnik in his eggmobile came spurting forth, over the treeline and across the wall of the colosseum with a heavy trail of smoke behind him.

He had retrofitted his flying contraption with heavy boosters to account for the giant hammer attached to the side of his mini ship. The two Mobians watched in dismay as he skimmed down the other side of the arena, staying above the columns as he neared the duo.

Neither party said anything for a few awkward moments, Tails and Sonic tense and ready to bolt while Robotnik hovered noisily, his odd hammer nearly the size of his mobile and just resting on a bent hinge.

Eventually Robotnik sighed. "Hello, Sonic," he evenly said. "Care to supply me with the emeralds in your possession?"

Sonic smirked, crossing his arms. "I'm not in a giving mood today, Eggman."

There was a noticeable twitch, but Robotnik kept his cool at the use of the nickname. "Very well. I can pull it off your corpse if you insist."

Ominous dawning of Robotnik's ridiculous weapon made Sonic instinctively grab Tails' wrist just as the giant hammer creaked and lifted with its metal arm.

"Sonic..?" Tails asked worriedly.

"Get ready for speed, big guy," the hedgehog replied, his eyes never leaving Robotnik.

He anticipated the doctor to strike at them, probably as an attempt to keep them from returning from the way they came. Alternatively, if that hammer was strong enough, only a couple of hits would be needed to cave in the tunnel behind them.

Sonic loathed the idea of returning inside, despite the rows of totem poles waiting to release their sharp arrows. Besides the obvious reason of having to return to the water, he feared that the structural integrity of the temple was unstable at best; if that mallet could succeed in collapsing the tunnel, it wouldn't be farfetched to assume the temple could topple too.

So when the mad doctor's hammer slammed down onto the top of a column, Sonic was stilled with puzzlement.

It had not been a hard hit, and as soon as he did it the totem pole released an arrow, shooting across the field and straight into the other column parallel to it. None of the actions were even close to harming him or Tails. Why—?

The floor behind them vibrated and pulled apart, startling both Mobians. They cautiously stepped forward, staying out of the line of fire, and turned around to see stone—no, _columns_—rising out of the ground, blocking their path back into the temple. Each column had at least three deathly faces on it, and all their eyes began glowing red as soon as they were high enough to be triggered.

_WOMP WOMP WOMP_

Sonic bolted away, Tails in tow, as the arrows shot across the length of the field. As soon as they entered the main area, the columns on either side of them began firing as well, arrows flying high and low as Sonic ducked and jumped, struggling to time it right with another Mobian right behind him.

"Tails, fly!"

Sonic quickly scouted ahead before throwing his arm up, pulling the fox kid along and giving him a boost into the air as he began rotating his tails. The sudden sound of Robotnik's giant engines gave his location away and Sonic threw himself to the ground, barely avoiding the swing of the hammer that had been levelled at him. Sonic had to roll and get up quickly as more arrows were triggered.

Sonic glanced up as the hammer's hinges pulled back and swung high this time.

"Tails!"

The fox had been hovering safely above the columns, but was forced to go low as the hammer came veering diagonally. He tried to pull back up but Robotnik's mobile was fast with those boosters, blocking him.

Another swing forced Tails back to the ground and he rolled, Sonic darting towards him as the telltale _WOMP_s reacted to the kit's crash landing.

He sped around Robotnik and picked up Tails as the arrows flew by way too close for comfort, kicking up a mound of dirt as he zigzagged around more. An arrow suddenly whizzed by his face going the _opposite_ direction and Sonic cursed as he slid across the grass to avoid it.

Sonic frustratingly determined that the columns must've raised on the far end of the field as well, most likely triggered by Robotnik's calculated hit. How the hell did the doctor know it would do this?!

Regardless, they were trapped. Arrows came flying by in droves and from all directions, and Robotnik added additional challenges by randomly hitting the tops of columns they weren't near so arrows would already be flying when the duo returned to the area.

It was madness.

Sonic dodged another hammer attack and realized he had to take it out of commission if they were going to stand a chance. "Tails, can you fly again?" the hedgehog yelled, turning the corner and rounding back the other way.

Tails nodded, using Sonic's shoulders as leverage to pull up and ready himself.

Sonic sped up and turned at the edge of the field, getting ahead of Robotnik. With as clear of a path as they were going to get, Sonic tossed Tails into the air, letting the fox catch himself with his attached propellers.

Free to move with more agility, Sonic changed directions in a heartbeat, barreling down on Robotnik's mobile with determination. He jumped and rolled, spindashing at the joints and avoiding the swing of the hammer.

He missed.

Landing on the ground in a roll and stumbling back into a run, Sonic growled. Robotnik had jolted the mobile up higher than he could jump. The damn doctor was getting smarter with each encounter.

Tails was still in the air on the other side, so Sonic quickly turned and ran towards Robotnik again to keep the doctor's sights on him. As he neared the eggmobile and the hammer came back to swing, Sonic noticed that the constant misfiring of arrows had lodged multiple projectiles into the columns. Some teetered with barely a hold, but others were embedded so well that the head of the arrow was completely obscured.

He went for it.

Robotnik quickly approached as Sonic veered to the side. He jumped and missed the swing of the giant mallet, but instead of spindashing he rolled lightly, landing on the base of an arrow and catapulting himself back at the madman with spikes out and spinning.

The hit was spot-on. There was a satisfying crunch as his quills shredded the metal of one of the attached boosters, sending it hiccupping black smoke in protest. Robotnik roared obscenities at him, frantically working at his controls to stabilize the craft.

Sonic grinned as he kept his speed, avoiding the arrows and throwing Tails a wave as he rounded the edge of the field. Robotnik was only barely regaining control when the hedgehog bounded up again, using a lodged arrow to give him the lift he needed. This time he hit the back of the other booster, sending the eggmobile in a spin.

Robotnik yelled incoherently, quickly swinging the hammer into a nearby column to stop his momentum. Without careful aim, however, the mallet slammed along the side of the pillar. The hit was strong—too strong—and the top of the column broke from the impact, crumpling into small pieces and pulling up the bottom of the totem pole, dirt and all.

Sonic watched, still on the move, as the slow domino effect was put into motion. The partially crushed totem pole fell to the side, its heavy structure no match for the column next to it. With a heavy crash it toppled as well, a few stray arrows releasing at odd angles before its structure crumbled beneath the heavy stone barrage.

Robotnik's attention was focused on the ongoing destruction and Sonic used the distraction to his advantage. He rounded the edge of the field, sped up and stair-stepped three separate arrows, spindashing into the eggmobile right where the hammer was attached.

The cut was clean, the giant metal contraption falling off with a resounding bang. The sudden weight change threw the boosters off, Robotnik nearly shrieking as he spun out of control. He rammed into one of the stadium walls above the columns before coming back like a pingpong ball and exploding into another totem pole.

As Sonic landed a stray arrow was coming for him and he belly flopped to avoid it, skidding along the ground due to his speed. He struggled up as a pillar crashed next to him, another arrow barely nicking his shoulder before he could dodge it.

"Sonic!"

The blue speedster looked up and saw outstretched hands, reminiscent of the fox's save back in the chemical plant the day before. He jumped and grabbed them, Tails pulling them above the collapsing columns and towards the nearby stone benches.

Sonic glanced at Robotnik, watching the doctor regain stability and detach the boosters from his mobile as they began to catch fire. With the hammer and boosters gone, the madman made his escape in his damaged aircraft, unaware or too preoccupied to notice the hedgehog and fox flying in the other direction. Sonic glared at him as Tails landed in the area meant for spectators.

With echoing crashes and blows of stone wrecking stone, both Mobians peered over the edge of the wall and watched, mesmerized, as the field below them became a mess of broken marble and dirt. By the time the dust settled, only a lucky few totem poles remained standing, even as the debris nearly reached half their height.

"Whoa," Tails exhaled out.

"Yeah," Sonic replied. "Emerald's still down there," he lamented, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to try and focus on the pull.

"I think I know where!" Tails exclaimed, jumping atop of the wall. Sonic tilted his head at the fox but followed suit.

Before he could prompt him, Tails pointed: "Look! The columns on the end of the field are gone."

Sonic glanced in the general direction but rolled his eyes. "Yeah keed, along with ninety percent of the rest of the totem poles."

"No, they're not broken, they're gone—back into the ground," Tails insisted, his tails spinning and the little fox taking flight back to the arena. Sonic hurriedly followed, wanting to keep an eye on his charge and worried that the remaining totem poles still had a straggling arrow to throw at them.

"See?" Tails pointed again, and Sonic could barely make out the tops of stone in the ground at the edge of the field, where they had first entered the colloseum. Though whether that was the top of a column or the remnants of the bottom, he wasn't sure.

He was about to voice that opinion when Tails flew down to the other side of the field, talking a mile a minute: "They went back into the ground, which is what I think they are _supposed _to do. I think Robotnik knew that hitting the column would trigger a timed event, and I think locking someone in with all the arrows was the game. If they lasted long enough the columns on the end blocking them in would go away." Tails had flown the length of the field by this point, beyond where the other columns had been, and landed gracefully, walking over to the far wall leading to more spectator seating.

Sonic watched, amused, as Tails reached up and began pulling on some vines that had grown along the barrier. "I think Robotnik knew an emerald was here but couldn't find it. When the timer was up and the columns went away and nothing happened, I bet he thought he needed real players in the game or something—like us—but I don't think this civilization was that smart." Tails grunted as he pulled one especially stubborn vine away, revealing some sort of molding with a sun in the center.

"I think the point of the game was to survive, then run down here after the other columns went away…" he _pressed_ into the sun which was actually a button, and a low groan reverberated within the field, stone moving over stone. Both hedgehog and fox turned back around to see a pedestal emerge from the center of the field, a glowing red Chaos Emerald perched on its top.

"…and then go and face the danger one last time to retrieve their prize!" Tails proudly concluded.

Sonic's jaw dropped in disbelief, but he recovered quickly, reaching over and giving the fox a head ruffle. "Nice, Tails!" Sonic wasted no time in zooming over to the center of the field to grab the jewel, too fast for the _WOMP_ he heard launch shortly after.

He jetted back over to Tails, kicking up pebbles and dust in his wake but with a red glowing stone to show for it. Tossing it into the air once, Sonic caught it and placed the gemstone in his quills, next to the other two stones in their possession.

Three down, four to go.

As the blue speedster looked down he smiled; the real Tails—the one that was sharp and energetic and excited by things like ancient murder puzzles—was a welcoming sight from the scrawny, beat-up fox with eyes that held too much rejection.

"All right braniac," Sonic said good-naturedly, "let's get out of this wet nightmare."


	6. Casino Night

Note: A shout-out (again) to Zoggerific for their constructive feedback. Went through and cleaned up some areas!

* * *

_Casino Night_

* * *

Tails' eyes widened at the scene before him. They were in a city, someplace with lots of casinos according to Sonic. While Tails knew the concept of gambling thanks to some fantasy novels he had read, he had no idea what that entailed in the real world.

But if it had anything to do with the sheer number of fluorescent and neon decorations surrounding this place, then the fox would be happy to try his luck with it.

"So many lightbulbs…." he mumbled, following a walking Sonic along a relatively quiet street. They were parallel to the main drag that was littered with Mobians and humans alike, even though Tails was pretty sure humans were a rarity on West Side Island. These casinos had to be pretty new, though, since his lone geography book never talked about them, so maybe the new attractions had drew them in.

As they followed the path and Tails peeked through each alleyway or cross-section of street into the world next door, he couldn't even comprehend the amount of brightness he was seeing from neon signs, billboards, and building entranceways. It was like the street was fighting to keep daylight alive during the evening hours, in an uncharacteristic swirl of bright pink, blue, and lime green.

"Here we are," Sonic motioned with his head, turning down one of the many alleyways next to a very tall, glitzy building. Tails hesitated as he looked up, but fell in line next to Sonic with a couple running steps to catch up.

They were only on the main street for a few seconds, Sonic turning the corner and heading into the main lobby of the hotel determinedly. A few pedestrians glanced up at the famous blue hedgehog, whispering amongst themselves excitedly. When they met eye contact with Tails he quickly looked down, keeping as close to the blue hero as he could without gathering attention to himself.

The whispers became a lot more ominous to Tails as he kept Sonic's shoes in his line of sight, but he tried to remember what Sonic had told him: this wasn't Shoreside. Big cities were more accepting because there were more sapients, and being different was more the norm than being similar. His tails were unique, but they were not a curse.

This was not Shoreside.

The mantra continued in his head as they entered the building. A blast of cool air hit Tails and he breathed it in, finding himself looking back up at all the lights and _sounds_ surrounding him. Fancy screens with colorful imagery, neon signs beckoning you every which way, and a ding or a melody or a pop in the far corner, where some weird computer-like machines sat, some occupied and some not.

This place was a wonderland of tech and pizazz. His focus had been on so much around him that he bumped into the back of Sonic when the hedgehog had stopped walking. He shot the hero an apologetic look before glancing back at the human that was currently staring at both of them with only a hint of incredulousness.

"Mr. Hedgehog, plus, uh, one?" he said, eyeing Tails warily.

"Yes, two beds," Sonic replied, pulling out a card from his sock. Tails watched the transaction with fascination, the human taking the card and swiping it against something before providing it back to Sonic. Tails' namesakes thrashed with excitement at the new technology, causing the human to do a double-take at the double appendages.

He was already handing Sonic another card, however, and didn't have time to comment before the hedgehog pulled it out of his hands and led Tails away from the service desk.

More eyes kept finding their way to the two Mobians making a fast walk to the nearby elevators. Tails felt himself pull his tails together tightly, an act that he had to do consciously since his tails normally had minds of their own. Sonic glanced at him as he pressed a button along the wall of elevators, frowning at him when he noticed what the kit was doing.

"Stop doing that with your tails," he chided.

The fox was too busy finding all the eyes glancing in their direction. "They're staring," he argued softly.

Sonic snorted lightly when he followed the kit's gaze back at the Mobians and humans in the area. "That's because we're covered in muck."

The fox paused in his observations, returning his gaze to the hedgehog. It was only then that he realized the normally pristine blue of the hedgehog was more of a gray blue, his fur covered in bits of moss and dirt and dust. His white socks and red shoes were greener and browner, respectively, and his gloves were slightly better, but not by much: one had shredded along the cuff and the other along one of the fingertips, Sonic's blue fur sticking out from underneath.

Looking down at himself revealed a similar appearance: his golden brown fur was hazed over in gray with dust and grime, and his ratty gloves, socks, and shoes were stained green, both from the grass and the mossy water they had waded through.

"Oh," was all Tails could reply with. His tails slipped from their forced binding, happily whipping about separately.

The elevator dinged and Sonic ushered Tails into the open cabin, pressing a button as soon as they were inside to close the doors. Thankfully no one followed them in.

Sonic used the card he had been handed at the front desk to open one of the countless doors along the hallway they had entered on the 19th floor. Their hotel room was spacious, with two large beds, a bathroom with a tub and shower, a television attached to the far wall, and even a balcony to look out over the city. Tails bounded over to the sliding glass door, opening it and peering out over the wall, having to jump and hang onto the edge to see over it. They were facing the east side, the opposite direction of where they had come from. With the height of their room Tails could see the rest of the city, multiple buildings standing out and bright signs saying things like, "Win Big!" and "Rings Galore!"

Beyond that were dimmer lights, most likely homes instead of buildings, and beyond that a hilly landscape shadowed by the sun that had set on the other side of the horizon, leaving only a color scheme of purple and dark blue in its wake.

"All right, keed," Sonic declared, following him outside. "Let's clean up and get some food. Tomorrow we'll go shopping."

Tails, still admiring the scenery, lowered himself and turned to look at the blue hedgehog. "Shopping?" he asked warily.

"Well, yeah," Sonic simply stated. "We're both in need of gloves and shoes, not to mention socks." One of his feet lifted up as he inspected the item in question. "We didn't exactly pack spares."

The fox glanced at his own apparel, absently rubbing the thin material of his glove.

The hedgehog seemed to recognize the hesitancy this time, as he added, "Trust me, kiddo, take a good bath and no one is going to do more than bat an eye at your tails."

The fox stopped fidgeting and looked back up at the hedgehog. He had searched Sonic's face many times over the past few days, constantly confirming the sincerity that he wished was true, but was cautious to accept.

The hedgehog's resolve never changed.

The little fox finally nodded at him, a simple answer to what was dozens of uncertainties.

Two hours later found both the hedgehog and fox clean of swamp muck, but still with mucky gloves, socks, and shoes. Tails could not remember the last time he had taken a bath—a real bath with soap—and had actually enjoyed the soothing warm water.

Granted, he was not a fan of having to blow-dry his fur for nearly half an hour and would much rather air dry in the sun outside, but seeing as though it was well into the night he was limited in his options.

Since it was late and they had already had a rough day, Sonic opted to order food in. Tails had no idea what room service meant until a Mobian wolf knocked on their door and brought in two cartfuls of food.

Sonic signed something as the food was wheeled into the room, and handed a coin to the wolf before he left, piquing Tails' curiosity even more.

With the wolf gone, Sonic motioned Tails over to the table, pulling one of the carts nearby. He took the covered plates of food and lined them up on the surface, pulling their lids off as he did so.

Fruit, meat, bread with an assortment of spreads, water, juice, and even some more chili dogs were only a fraction of the available treats to eat. Tails had never seen so much food in his life.

"Eat up keed, desserts are on the next cart," Sonic smiled, already reaching for a chili dog.

No further encouragement was needed. Both Mobians ate the majority of the food, refueling after a long twelve hours of grueling hiking through a trap-laden swamp. When most of the food on the table had been depleted, Sonic placed the empty plates and trays back onto the cart, wheeling it towards the door and pulling the second cart back over to their dining area. Tails assisted in placing the new covered plates on the table, eyes growing to saucers as the lids were removed and he was face-to-face with pies, cakes, and some chocolate candies.

"Wow," the little fox breathed.

The pies and cakes were already precut, so Sonic easily used a utensil to pick up a slice of each and place them on a plate before handing it to Tails. The fox grabbed a nearby fork and took a bite, his face almost immediately grimacing.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked, his mouth already full of the baked treats.

"It's so sweet," Tails said as he swallowed heavily. "I've never had anything that sweet before."

Sonic laughed. "It might be a taste you have to get used to," he admitted, taking another bite of his cake. "Try the dark chocolate, it's not supposed to be as sweet."

The hedgehog had motioned to the chocolate candies in a bowl, so Tails hesitantly picked one up and inspected it. After only a moment's pause he popped the candy into his mouth, this time smiling at the taste. "Wow, that's really good!"

As Tails reached for a handful more, Sonic opted to grab one and take a bite as well, his face scrunching up as he chewed. "Blegh, mint chocolate. You like that?"

Tails had stuffed about four in his mouth when Sonic asked the question, so he simply nodded enthusiastically, already grabbing for more.

The hedgehog shook his head but grinned. "To each their own."

After their filling meal, Sonic wheeled both carts out into the hallway, assuring Tails that was what they were supposed to do. Each Mobian then settled on top of one of the two beds in the main area, Sonic holding the remote and channel surfing while Tails watched him and the television curiously.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that card you used downstairs?"

Sonic paused in his channel cruising, glancing at Tails. "Card..? Oh, you mean the credits card?"

"Credits card?" Tails asked.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, it's another way to pay for things. It's linked to your bank account."

"So it's like rings or coins?" the fox probed.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"So it networks to the bank, where your money is stored, and then when the serviceman swiped it he was able to access your account to pay for the hotel…" Tails had said aloud, though not directed at Sonic. "…you just signed for the food earlier, which also means that they keep the information while we're here. That's dangerous. What if someone got that information and used it to buy other things?"

Sonic had returned his interest to the television at Tails' digression, but looked back at the fox when he heard the lilt of the voice indicating a question. "Well, the bank monitors for that kind of stuff. They'll shut down the card if they think there's fraud."

"Oh," Tails breathed out, digesting that information. Another thought plagued his mind. "Is being a hero your job?"

"Ha! I wish. No one pays me to stop Robotnik."

"Don't you have to have a job to make money?"

"I do, sort of," Sonic offered hesitantly.

Tails' ears twitched with curiosity. "What's your job?"

Sonic smiled, though it was a smile filled with distaste. "Sponsorships, keed. The bane of my existence."

"Sponsorships?"

The hedgehog, realizing that Tails had move onto a whole other subject, turned off the television and sat up in his bed. "When people get to know you and you become, well, famous—which is what happened after I kicked 'buttnik to the curb on South Island—companies like to, uh, have you promote their products." He shrugged to himself and added, "I say I like Mobius Cola and the company pays me a pretty coin."

"Do you like Mobius Cola?"

Sonic stared at the fox. "Uh, maybe?"

"So you lie."

The hedgehog's quills bristled, making Tails regret those choice of words instantly. "I don't lie, I… embellish." Sonic waved the fox off, flopping back onto the bed with a resounding sigh. "I don't market anything I think would be detrimental to society. Cola, some food joints, my shoes—which, by the way, are the only ones that hold up the best against my speed—" Sonic glanced back over at Tails, realizing his diversion. "Fact is, kiddo, I can't be held down by some day job. I need my time to run and explore and be free—sponsorships give me that. I say a few words, smile for a few pictures, and I'm set for the next few months."

Tails had been listening with intent, cross-legged on the bed and tails whipping about behind him. "But you could," he finally said, yawning and stretching.

"Huh?"

"You could use that power to promote bad things," Tails added tiredly, settling himself under the covers. "But you don't."

There was a short, almost bitter laugh from the other side of the room as Sonic snapped the light off. Tails' eyes adjusted to the night quickly enough to see Sonic throw himself back onto the bed, above the covers. "I guess that makes me a hero, then?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, but it makes you a good person," Tails argued back faintly. He yawned again, sleepiness making his voice droopy. "Plus, I really like your shoes."

There was a long silence before Sonic simply said, "G'night, kiddo."

"Night, Sonic."

* * *

The next morning was more like the next early afternoon. Both Sonic and Tails slept heavily, recuperating from the past few days of nonstop running and battling. Tails was starting to understand why the hedgehog had always been passed out until late in the morning on the beach, before he had met him:

Adventuring was exhausting.

When Tails finally did wake up, Sonic had already awoken and was answering a knock on the door, signaling more food. Tails' ears perked up and he happily hopped out of bed to divulge in another large spread of breakfast items.

Having solid meals for the past few days had given Tails back a lot of his energy, which also made him much more forthcoming in conversation. In addition to his newfound love of mint candy, Tails had divulged his various inventions he had created over the past year, including his solar-powered lantern, an energy-operated communication device (which was able to access a multitude of channels before the bullies broke it), and his most prized possession, a small portable computer that he used for notetaking and calculations. His hope was to get it to scan eventually, and pull information based off the matter that it scanned. But that would take time, as well as some hefty input of the current world's knowledge, which he had only a small piece of access to.

Of course, all of that stuff had been left in the plane, which Sonic assured Tails they would return to soon. On land he was faster on foot, which Tails obviously agreed to, and West Side Island didn't offer a lot of places to land a plane besides the coast, which was never an easy feat to begin with.

Sonic had also provided some more information on his life, though he had kept purposely mum on family, Tails mentally noted. He delved into his first fight with Robotnik more, describing how the Chaos Emeralds had either hidden themselves in an alternate dimension that defied physics, or they had managed to warp his mind in his attempt to reach them, almost like a defense tactic.

Regardless, he had obtained them, each one becoming easier to find, as if they were drawn to each other. After the defeat of Robotnik and the jewels had scattered themselves, Sonic had followed the madman's trail—even coming to West Side Island briefly—but eventually eased up when the trail grew cold and altogether stopped a month or so after the destruction of his base.

He had realized then that he had become famous, which made commuter air flight less than ideal, so he opted to take flying lessons. In fact, the couple that owned the Tornado were his teachers and had already retired by the time Sonic had approached them. Thankfully, being famous did also have its upsides and they agreed to instruct him.

In return, he purchased their plane and training grounds—his home now in the Mystic Ruins—and they in turn retired in style.

Once breakfast (which was also lunch) and chitchat were over, both Mobians begrudgingly put back on their dirty socks, shoes, and gloves, which had up to this point remained barred to the corner of the room. Sonic had rinsed off the apparel as best he could the day before, but there wasn't much salvaging of the accessories to be had.

Tails looked forward to getting new gear, which he had never had, but he did _not_ look forward to going out in public, both because Sonic would be ogled for his celebrity status and because, by proxy, they would take notice of the little fox with two tails.

Sonic had once again convinced him, however, with the promise of more mint candy afterwards, which was really bribery, but bribery that worked like a charm for a fox who had singlehandedly decided that mint candy was the next best thing to Sonic.

The trip down to the lobby was uneventful, though once on the main floor Tails noted more Mobians and humans mingling, the late afternoon life of the city a stark contrast to the villages he grew up in or near. With a more crowded lobby most people didn't see or have time to register the relatively smaller blue hedgehog navigating the duo through the crowd. Those that did definitely did a double take, but Sonic was already through the next group of pedestrians before they could react to his presence.

The blue hedgehog had led them to a rather fancy apparel establishment, geared towards Mobians and built within the hotel, along with a few other shops and restaurants. As the hero sauntered through one of the open double doors, his tagalong hesitated at the entrance. His eyes peeked inside and soaked up the bright white lights that glistened off reflective floors and made the rows of shoes, gloves, hats, and jackets stand out even more.

"Tails?"

The kit blinked back into reality and looked towards the source. Sonic had turned back around and stood in front of him. "You coming?" he asked simply, his eyes holding more of a frown than the small smile he had planted on his face.

A boisterous group walked behind Tails, outside of the shop, and caused the fox to jump in fright. He quickly crossed the threshold of the store and entered its much quieter atmosphere, Sonic stepping in line next to him.

"Can I help you—oh!" A female rabbit had appeared behind some taller racks, startling Tails but not Sonic. She had her ears tied together with a yellow bow, a bright yellow dress that contrasted sharply with the gray monochrome scheme of the store, and even yellow makeup on her eyes, giving Tails the impression of a living daffodil. The hedgehog smiled politely at the salesgirl who had froze up when seeing Sonic standing in front of her.

"Hi, we're looking for some gloves and shoes," he motioned to Tails, forcing the rabbit to notice the smaller Mobian next to the famous hedgehog. She smiled curtly at him, barely making eye contact before returning her gaze back to Sonic.

"Yes, of course, please come with me!" she replied almost too enthusiastically, turning back the way she came and motioning with her hands to follow. "We have a nice fitting room that you can use."

Tails wanted to ask why a Mobian shop specializing in only accessories had a fitting room, but realized upon entering that it wasn't so much a fitting room as a VIP room: it had a large mirror, a giant comfortable-looking ottoman, and a couple hangers along the walls to probably place items as they were tested for purchase. Tails had never been to a clothing store, since all of his gear had come from the orphanage or donations (that he had gotten his hands on before they were shipped out), but his fantasy books had told him enough about royalty treatment to know this was very much like it.

Sonic sat down on the ottoman, pulling off one of his abused shoes. In addition to the permanent green hue, multiple holes in the fabric of both it and his sock showed their imminent disintegration.

"You got this style?" Sonic asked, holding out the shoe.

The rabbit nodded and pulled the shoe from Sonic all too happily, peering at the inside tongue to check the size. "I'll be right back!" She was gone in a flash of yellow.

Sonic looked at Tails while he pulled his other shoe and both socks off. "How do those shoes fit?" he asked, motioning with his head to the fox's footwear, one of which was being held together by its shoelace.

The kit had honestly never thought about it. They weren't too tight, obviously, but his heels had been rubbed raw when he had first found the pair. To answer the hedgehog he shrugged, walking up to him and—after a moment's hesitation—sitting next to the hero on the soft, giant ottoman.

"Let's have her measure your feet, then," Sonic continued with Tails' reaction. "We wanna make sure they don't cause blisters."

The fox had taken interest in Sonic's other shoe, now sitting between them on the cushioned surface. He picked it up and inspected how the sole had been worn thin and, in some ways, almost melted. "Is this because of your speed?" he asked, eyes never leaving the shoe.

Sonic hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I go through them almost weekly, sometimes sooner if I run on concrete a lot."

"You need more heat resistant material," Tails commented, feeling the sole and bending a rather thin piece near the toe that had separated. "Something more durable, but still flexible enough to be, well, a shoe."

Sonic was watching him, perplexed, when Tails glanced back up at him. "Yeah, I guess that would be better than going through a pair of shoes twice a week," he finally lamented, turning his attention back to the bunny when she returned to the room.

As she handed Sonic a nearly identical pair of shoes to his own, albeit brand new and not falling apart, the hedgehog motioned to Tails. "He'll need his feet measured. Oh, and we'll need some new socks, too," he said to her as he began untying and loosening the laces of the new shoes.

The bunny, whose name was Valla if her nametag attached to her lapel was accurate, seemed to finally take notice of Tails or—more aptly—Tails' namesakes. Her eyes widened but she cleared her throat instead of commenting, opting to nod to the little fox before pulling out the measuring tape that was bundled up in her dress pocket.

Tails quickly removed his shoes and socks, only having a bit of trouble untying the knot in his shoelace that was holding the two halves of his right shoe together. The bunny kneeled next to him, holding the tape along the bottom of his foot to measure the length. As she did so she glanced again at his tails, making the fox nervously pull them together.

Valla seemed to recognize the reaction and blushed. "Sorry," she said. "They're, uh, they're just really cool looking."

The fox's eyes widened in surprise, and a quick glance at Sonic showed the hedgehog smiling warmly at him. Swallowing heavily and looking back at the attendant, Tails softly said, "Thank you."

The bunny grinned, looking relieved to have diffused the previous awkwardness. "So would you like the same shoes as Sonic's, or something different?"

Tails did not hesitate: "Like Sonic's!"

That made the girl laugh. "All right, let me see if we have your size," she said, standing up and walking away. "And I'll bring some socks!" she added before exiting the room.

Sonic playfully punched Tails' shoulder. "See, keed, what'd I tell ya."

The fox, still reeling from the compliment, continued to grin and did not respond.

Valla came back shortly afterwards with some socks and gloves to try on, then mentioned that she needed to check in the back for shoes in Tails' size. When she left the second time Sonic handed Tails a new pair of socks before grabbing his own pair and putting them on.

"So where's the next emerald?" Tails asked, filling in the comfortable silence as he too put on the white stretchy cloth.

Sonic paused as he grabbed one of his new shoes he had sat next to him, thinking. He glanced at the amplifier on his wrist. "Not close," he admitted. "It's definitely northeast, hard to say how far."

"Northeast is the Hill Top mountain region," Tails replied, his mind bringing up that lone geography book he had studied a few months ago. "It's got an active volcano and lots of earthquakes."

Sonic quirked an eye ridge at the fox. "Volcano?"

"Yeah, not many people live near the base, but it's never really had any big eruptions, just lots of small ones." Tails paused in his statement. "Sorry, I don't know much about volcanoes; the geography book was very vague about it."

Sonic shook his head exasperatedly. "Kiddo, you don't gotta know everything."

Both Mobians opted to try on the gloves Valla had brought out while they waited for her to return with shoes for Tails. Tails was amazed at how strong brand-new gloves felt, not to mention how white they were. He tested the smaller size and found them to be a perfect fit, admiring how snug they were compared to his previous pair that had been two sizes too large and full of worn holes.

Sonic had tried on a larger size and seemed content with his choice as well. With his new shoes, socks, and gloves—along with an earlier shower—the hedgehog looked like he was ready for a meet-and-greet with fans.

Tails found his legs absently kicking against the giant flat couch as they waited. He took a look back at one of his tails, checking out the burn he had received when they had infiltrated the chemical plant a couple days ago. A good bath with soap allowed the fur around it to fluff up and cover most of it, since the bandage he had been wearing on it was destroyed from their trip through the Aquatic Ruins yesterday.

"Tails?"

The fox blinked at the name, turning back around. In front of him was Sonic and Valla, the latter holding shoes out to him.

Tails smiled. "Oh!" he took them from the bunny, admiring them. "Wow, these are great!"

Valla smiled. "Try them on! We didn't have any in your size that were exactly like Sonic's, but I figured with the red and white color scheme these might be a good choice."

The little fox pulled them on, tying the shoe laces and jumping off the ottoman to test them. While Sonic's shoes were mostly red with a white stripe down the center, these shoes were half and half, with the front white and the heels red.

He loved them.

He jumped in them to test their feel and gave an enthusiastic nod to the other two Mobians.

"Great! Will there be anything else today?" Valla asked, clapping her hands once and looking at Sonic.

"Nope, that'll be it. Thanks for the help," he added, handing her what Tails now understood to be a credits card.

She gladly took it and made her way back to the front of the store to perform the transaction. Sonic took the time to gather up their old shoes, socks, and gloves, walking over to a nearby trashcan to dispose of them.

Tails jumped some more, amazed at how much more _comfortable_ the world was when you had well-fitted shoes on your feet. "Thank you Sonic!" he quipped happily, running and catching up to the hedgehog as he turned to head to the front of the store.

Sonic ruffled the top of his head. "Least I could do, Tails."

"So Hill Top next?"

Sonic shrugged as he pulled back the curtain that separated the fitting room from the rest of the store. "We'll see. We slept in and took our time with food, so it's already getting pretty late."

As they rounded the corner Valla handed Sonic his card, which he gratefully took and placed back in his improvised sock pocket. They waved goodbye to her and made their way to the front of the store, opening one of the double doors…

…to be met with a dozen flashing lights from cameras.

"Sonic!"

"What brings you to Casino Night?"

"Are you a gambler?"

"Can I get your autograph?!"

"Who's your new friend?"

The two Mobians had essentially become trapped inside a mob of humans and Mobians alike, mostly swarming around Sonic to obtain answers, but an equal amount of cameras flashing and taking pictures of Tails.

Sonic seemed frozen, but not because of the crowd. He was looking at the amplifier and ignoring most of the people, aside from a few short answers here and there.

Tails, however, found himself pushed against the wall of the store they'd just exited, breathing erratically. Short and tall, big and little, fur and furless, it was a big crowd. How did they know they were here? They weren't in the store that long. It seemed like they didn't gather that much attention when walking, so how could they have known? Tails swallowed heavily. There were so many people _everywhere_, limbs in the way of all potential escape routes; they were getting too close—

"WOW, you have two tails!"

"How did that happen?"

"Were you born with it?"

The crowd closed in and Tails whimpered slightly. He lost sight of Sonic with all the hands, cameras, and _faces_ just _staring_ at him. He needed to find an out, anywhere, Sonic—where was he?—he couldn't think—

Their questions became garbled in his head but had not let up. He closed his eyes, clenched them hard, and kept his hands on either side of the glass wall he was pressed against. Maybe he could move along the wall, find the door and go back inside, maybe they wouldn't follow—?

"—up, over, and gone!"

A strong hand grasped Tails' wrist and he almost yelped before recognizing the instantaneous pull of speed. They only moved for a few seconds, but obviously headed outside because Tails felt the warmth of the sun hit him. When they stopped Tails dropped to the ground, cautiously opening his eyes to find Sonic staring concernedly at him.

"Big breaths, Tails," he soothed, and Tails didn't understand why until he realized he was hyperventilating. He consciously slowed his thoughts down, making his breathing slower and fuller. He shakily stood back up, Sonic assisting him.

"Sorry, kiddo," Sonic admonished guiltily. "Right when we stepped outside I felt the pull of an emerald and I, well…" he paused, scratching the side of his face nervously, "…I didn't think about the crowd being an issue."

Tails, still trying his best to breathe calmly, nodded his head in understanding but took a moment to lean against a nearby wall. A quick glance told him Sonic had brought them to an alleyway close by. As his head became less fuzzy with dread he unsteadily asked, "There's an emerald here?"

Sonic looked towards the main street, nodding. "Yeah, and there definitely was not one here earlier, so it just showed up."

"So someone found it?" Tails asked, finding the strength to stand on his own.

"Unfortunately," Sonic stated. "But it's close." He turned his attention back to the fox. "You sure you're okay, buddy? I'm really sorry about that."

Tails swallowed the last tinges of fear and nodded to the hedgehog. "I'm okay," he said with way more confidence than he felt.

Sonic smiled and motioned for the fox to follow. "Let's go see who has our emerald then, shall we?"

The duo re-entered the main drag, the lights on the buildings beginning to stand out as the setting sun began to disappear over the horizon. The sidewalks were still bustling but, similar to earlier, the pedestrians didn't have enough time to comprehend the celebrity who had just walked by before he and his friend were gone.

Sonic kept a brisk walking pace, enough so that Tails had to occasionally jog to keep up, but he wasn't about to complain. The sooner they got to where they were going the better.

When the two turned a street corner Sonic paused, glancing at the building to his right. It had lights and neon signs like all the other casinos, though not as flashy as some Tails had seen. But it was definitely open, Mobians and humans alike walking in and out of it.

The blue hedgehog hummed to himself, looking at his wrist and confirming Tails' assumption with, "It's in there."

The little fox followed the hedgehog into the casino, noting that its name was only "Casino Night." Inside were the usual machines Tails had seen earlier, along with some card tables that looked interesting, though how you gambled with card games was beyond him.

They quickly made their way to the back of the casino, where less people were gathered. A bright machine stood in the far back, catching Tails' eye.

It must've caught Sonic's too, since he walked them right up to it.

"Speed Test!" was the main display. A rough caricature of Sonic—wild quills, a goofy grin, and a super short torso—was emblazoned on the front, along with the statement, "See if you're faster than Sonic the Hedgehog and win BIG!"

Above that was a ramp to a small half-cage, almost like a treadmill with four walls to keep you contained. It looked like someone was supposed to run in place in that spot and, in turn, the machine would calculate your speed and compare it to Sonic's. Various numbers were on the backboard of the display, stating how many rings would be won if you could run at a certain velocity.

Neither hedgehog nor fox said anything as they stared rather stupefied at the hastily-designed contraption.

"I thought you didn't promote bad things?" Tails finally asked quietly.

Sonic laughed dryly. "No one paid me money for this, Tails." He shook his head at it and looked back at his amplifier. "Unfortunately, this is where the emerald is."

Tails looked at Sonic and then back at the machine. "Like, you gotta win it?" he asked incredulously.

The hedgehog took a moment to look around the machine, Tails following. It appeared to be bolted to the wall pretty well, which made sense if someone was going to test their speed on it. Aside from a few other, more usual machines nearby, this seemed to be the only game that stood out.

A couple of humans walked by laughing, startling both of the Mobians and reminding them that they were in the middle of a populated casino. Sonic sighed and shrugged to Tails, pulling a coin out of his spines.

"I guess there's only one way to find out," he finally answered the fox, popping the coin into the slot.

The machine hiccupped to life, a boorish melody playing and causing Tails to fold his ears downwards. Sonic groaned and slowly climbed onto the gated treadmill, closing the latch and looking at the controls in front of him. With one button press he started running.

"Oh, good try, but not fast enough!" a pre-recorded voice bellowed out.

Sonic frowned and increased his speed, watching the kilometers on the display board tick upwards.

"Sonic's still running circles around you!" the voice bellowed again.

"What the _hell_, I am—" Sonic outright growled, ramping up his speed tenfold.

The numbers increased dramatically. "Oh, so close and yet SO SLOW!"

"THAT does it!"

"Sonic—" Tails warned, a dread settling into his stomach. This was not an ordinary machine.

But the hedgehog was already hauling, sparks flying out from beneath the treadmill. There was a loud agitated sound, like a pop but guttural, and Sonic disappeared from sight with a yell.

"SONIC!" Tails scrambled up to the machine, trying to get over the gate, seeing below that a trap door had opened and it was pitch black below. He jumped over the gate, even as the whole machine started _rotating_, but found the trap door closed. He landed on the treadmill, which was back like nothing had ever happened, but looked up to see the whole machine turning into the wall, like it was attached to a hidden door.

On the other side was nothing but pitch black.


	7. Casino Night pt 2

One day he might learn to swallow his pride. That day was not today.

Sonic felt the ramp dip below him, but at the speed he was going he was lucky it dipped fast enough to avoid the edge of the floor and for him to _not_ cut his own head off.

So instead he ran straight down into oblivion, feeling the wall of something against his feet in the absolute darkness and using it to slow his descent as best he could.

The ground rounded out and then shot upwards without much time for slowing, Sonic going right up with it. Then, just as suddenly, there was no more floor and he was in the air, running on nothing; he instinctively curled himself inwards and hoped the fall wouldn't kill him.

He roughly landed seconds later, much sooner than he thought he would, and bounced a couple times before disentangling himself and falling flat onto the hard floor. There was a loud _clink_ and lights flooded the room.

Any semblance of grace and style were already long gone, so Sonic took his time to pull himself into a standing position, his joints aching in protest. He was still in a casino … sort of. It was dark and heavily shadowed, but neon lights now lit up various tunnels and hills and—a peek to his right confirmed—giant valleys that looked like half-pipes for the insane skateboarder.

"OH ho ho ho, Sonic, couldn't resist my 'Speed Test' machine, could you?"

The voice echoed from speakers somewhere, making Sonic grumble a few choice words in response. "Har har, Eggy," he said loudly, though with no real direction. "I didn't realize you were a closet fan!"

"I am NOT a fan, you ridiculous rodent—that machine was satire!"

"Still admiration in my book," Sonic said and grinned, "just with a hint of jealousy."

There was tense silence, enough to where Sonic could almost hear the grinding of Robotnik's teeth. With obvious repressed anger the doctor replied with, "Well, _Sonic_, let's see if your big head can make it through this obstacle course … if you're at all interested in getting this lovely emerald, anyway."

The line clicked and went silent.

The hedgehog fumed. The doctor didn't have an emerald. He was bluffing. He had to be bluffing. _They _had the amplifier and Sonic was the one honed in on the Chaos field. There was no way.

"Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog jerked out of his thoughts and looked up to see Tails flying down towards him. "How'd you get in here?!" Sonic exclaimed, watching the fox land heavily on the platform he stood on.

"The machine rotated in here," Tails responded, pointing up towards what Sonic presumed to be the ceiling of this place, even though lights didn't reach that far. "I tried to follow you down the trap but it closed, and then the whole machine and wall just turned into here and it was really _dark_, but then the lights came on and I heard you and Eggman arguing."

Tails, resting his hands on his knees, looked up at Sonic before his eyes took in their surroundings. "Whoa," he breathed. "This place is awesome!"

The hedgehog had to admit this place looked more like a playground than an obstacle course. Robotnik was obviously trying to trap Sonic, which was no easy feat on its own, but this warehouse looked like the speedster could zip and fly through it like the tiny silver orb of a pinball machine.

Only one way to find out.

"Ready, keed?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Tails enthusiastically grabbed it. "Yeah!"

Sonic didn't even need a running start. He went down a ramp attached to the platform they were on, perpendicular to the one he had practically fallen down, and within moments they were in the middle of absolute neon chaos.

Sparkling lights, red shiny floors, blue and gold columns, followed by weird glitzy signs along the walls were only a fraction of the sheer gaudiness of the place. Sonic tried to control his speed with Tails in tow, but the floors were slick and meant for acceleration.

Case in point, not two platforms later Sonic found himself running full speed at a moving block, which also happened to be moving away from him and rudely taking the floor with it.

"Agh, fly Tails!"

Tails, still hanging onto Sonic's wrist, obeyed and rotated his namesakes, giving both of them instant slowdown. Sonic slammed his feet into the floor for as much friction as possible, thanking Chaos that his shoes and soles were brand-spanking new. Nonetheless, the speed they had been going was too much and Sonic was weightless for a second, below the moving block, before Tails pulled him back to level ground and out of the squishing zone.

When Sonic's feet hit the floor Tails dropped next to him, panting loudly and watching as the moving block slowly returned to being an extension of the floor.

"You're really hard to stop," Tails gasped as he stood back up.

"So I've been told."

They waited another revolution of the moving block before climbing atop it, then calculated their jumps on another two blocks before making it up to the next platform. With clear signs ahead, Sonic offered his hand to Tails and they zoomed onward.

The next few ramps and platforms were easy, a combination of ups and downs that made Sonic wonder how large this underground obstacle course was. He pulled through a tunnel, up and down a long relatively flat ramp, and gained some speed without meaning to.

And then suddenly there was a blockade in the road.

Sonic didn't have time to comprehend what it was. He didn't have time to jump at his current speed, either, and the thing was wide enough to block the entire damn pathway. He was already instinctively curling into himself, so he did the only thing he could do with his tagalong and pulled him into his chest, curling around him.

_BONG!_

Sonic hit the metal blockade hard enough to bounce back into the air, still curled but loosening up as the impact at least slowed his speed. He straightened out and landed heavily on the ground with his feet, Tails landing next to him on his butt and spinning along the floor twice.

"Whoa," Sonic exclaimed, shaking the last of the impact off. He took a look at Tails, still on the ground, and reached over to help him up. Tails waved him off, though, and instead dizzily crawled and leaned over the side of the platform before promptly throwing up.

Sonic cringed but didn't say anything. Seeing as though the kit was out of commission for a few minutes, Sonic took the time to see what exactly he had hit in the first place. As he approached it, he realized it moved—albeit very slowly—and the blockade was actually some kind of shield. Interest piqued, Sonic opted to jump over what he realized now was a bot and watched as the shield followed him, protecting the crab-like machine from whatever direction Sonic jumped or faced it. He was slower to protect his backside, but he had a large pincher claw to make up for it.

Aside from being in the way, however, he seemed rather useless.

Jumping back over to his charge, he found Tails shakily trying to stand on his own, a low groan escaping his muzzle.

"That was … you spin fast," Tails breathed out, eyes still half closed as he looked up at Sonic.

"Heh, yeah," Sonic chuckled lightly, "Sorry about that," he added. "You, uh, ready to go?"

Assumingly shaking the last of the dizziness away, Tails eyed the hedgehog warily. "I'll fly, if that's okay."

Sonic couldn't blame him for that, so he nodded. It was probably better to, anyway, seeing as though these floors begged for speed. Jumping back over the bot, Sonic waved the fox to follow, starting up with a much slower pace than before.

Tails' namesakes spun into action, making a light whirring noise that Sonic was only beginning to recognize. He stole another glance back and saw Tails in the air, still looking a little green under the fur, but nonetheless following Sonic.

Turning his attention ahead, Sonic found himself going through a tunnel, followed by a crazy loop, and along another ramp heading downwards. The duo coursed through the obstacle course seamlessly, Tails flying around the loops and tunnels with relative ease. Eventually Sonic came to a long flat surface, his orientation in this endless warehouse-of-fun completely gone. A sudden short tunnel came into view and he went through it, then down, finding himself in the midst of another deep half-pipe. He prepared for the next platform, which he assumed would be pretty tall considering the vertical drop he had experienced, but found a ceiling instead.

Instinct had him once again haphazardly curl into a ball just as he hit the strong material, feeling his sharp quill blades slice against the heavy metal and sparking before sending him back down the path he had come from.

Tails had been flying upwards to meet him, but at a distance, and reached out to the hedgehog as he barreled past again. Unfortunately Sonic was only beginning to uncurl and missed the hand grab, instead careening down the ramp the other direction, the slick floors his shoes' mortal enemy.

He went back up the other side of the ramp and figured he could at least stop on that platform—the one he had come from—but suddenly it wasn't there.

"What the—?!"

He ran right past it because what had been a pathway was now apparently a wall, and yet another ceiling was making its way brazenly close. Sonic growled in frustration but protectively curled into a ball, hitting the ceiling with more force than before because he had gained even more speed on the stupid glossy floors.

He ricocheted and was grouchily reminded of his analogy earlier about being the little ball in a pinball machine.

Uncurling once again, he saw Tails before he heard him, flying back towards him with outstretched hands. Sonic debated jumping for them, but at this speed he could very well hurt the kit, especially if his aim was off.

Thankfully Tails seemed to calculate the trajectory just right. He jolted down at an angle, hands still out, and Sonic grabbed both of them.

But, as Sonic was also rudely reminded, he was _really_ hard to stop.

"Aggghhh!"

Sonic and Tails both continued down the ramp, with Tails acting like a weak parachute for the speedy blue hedgehog. They rounded the bottom of the pathway and started heading back up before—finally—Tails' reverse force made an impact, slowing Sonic down enough that he only went up halfway.

Sonic released Tails' hands, knowing that at least at this speed he could act like a decelerating pendulum and eventually stop along the bottom.

Though, of course, the whole reason the entrance had turned into a wall came into fruition at that moment.

Robotnik appeared with his notorious mobile, now equipped with some odd grappling hook attached to the bottom of it, with the claws of the hook sparking even more oddly. Before Sonic could understand exactly what it was, the grappling hook had pulled _something_ to it and released it, a small explosion occurring upon impact with the ground. His ground, in front of him.

Oh.

A strangled yell came out of the hedgehog as he was forced to jump over the mini bomb. Sparks of electricity exuded from the device and Sonic's spines stood on end even with how fast he zoomed by. As he went back up the ramp he veered to the right as far as he could, which wasn't far. He was trapped in a giant U-shaped pipe, tall and narrow to gain velocity but hardly any depth to prevent the hedgehog from changing direction easily. The two edges of the ramp ended abruptly and were grated shut, rather than the previous ramps that had been rounded with the usual slick floors and walls. A quick pass near one confirmed the grated barriers were also electrified, his hand barely grazing one and immediately recoiling at the jolt that spread through his body.

"Don't be so quick to leave, Sonic!" Robotnik called, seeing the hedgehog's study of his surroundings. "We have much to catch up on!"

Sonic had only gone about a third of the way up before gravity took effect, forcing him to head back down towards the doctor. Tails was still flying and, thankfully, it appeared that the engineered hook on Robotnik's mobile could not aim high. In fact, the hook did not appear like it could move directionally at all. There was some attracting force to it—perhaps a magnetic field?—but so far it only opened and closed threateningly, occasionally sparking to remind everyone that it might not be a good idea to touch it.

Robotnik hadn't noticed or opted to not pay attention to the fox hovering nearby, who was smartly staying out of the doctor's sight anyways. Regardless, though, Tails couldn't fly forever, and Sonic was going to have to jump around like a bouncy ball stuck between two rock walls if Robotnik kept laying electrical bombs in his way.

"Bring it on 'buttnik!" Sonic hollered back, almost on autopilot, as he continued to keep his mind on his environment. He could gain some speed and jump out at Robotnik, but he needed to accelerate to reach him.

As he rounded the bottom of the ramp Robotnik released two more electrical bombs. He tried to swerve instead of jump them, but found himself in the path of some smaller _charged _shrapnel that had littered the floor. He had to leap to avoid it, but his timing was off now.

"Sonic!"

The hedgehog heard the worried call but could not answer. He hissed as he brushed against the debris and felt the high voltage course through his body, briefly wondering if his quills had stood out on end. He had to keep running. If he stopped, he'd be stuck at the bottom of the ramp where the electrical rubble would be, and Robotnik would continue to litter more. He had to keep _moving_, he had to gain height and—

"You look _shocked_ Sonic, oh ho ho ho!" Robotnik giddily commented, chuckling at his own pun. "But let's see how you like my newest _attraction_!"

There was another _clink_, followed by a low hum that grew slightly louder, and Sonic felt his quills raise on their own accord. No, oh no, not his quills… the emeralds.

As Sonic ran, his eyes were pulled to a yellow pulsating glow that could be seen from below Robotnik, inside his mobile, just barely out of sight. He hadn't been bluffing. Sonic breathed out angrily, the yellow hum of the Chaos Emerald taunting him in his veins, a part of his energy even as it powered machinery aimed to take him down. As if in answer to his thoughts, the pull of the yellow Chaos Emerald's attraction garnered the attention of the other stones in his possession, pulling them away from him and towards their lone, golden companion.

"Argh!" Sonic tried to hold his quills down and, by proxy, the escaping Chaos Emeralds, as he went through the electrical debris another time. He jumped to avoid its shock but at the cost of speed, speed he needed to reach the madman in his flying mobile and his stupid electrical bomb-dropper. The Chaos Emeralds continued to pull away from him, out of his quills and towards Robotnik's blasted contraption. How was he doing this?!

Tails came into view, still flying but trying his best to stay inconspicuous. Sonic rounded the edge of the ramp, ready to head back down, hands still desperately pushing his blue spikes down. Tails reached out for him, his own hands outstretched and ready.

What the hell, he might as well try.

Sonic grabbed Tails' extended arms and the duo quickly flew high into the air, even as the Chaos Emeralds were slipping out of his spines. When they reached the height he needed, Sonic pulled into a tight ball, using gravity as his momentum to come down and hit the contraption attached to Robotnik's mobile. He made sure to target the side of the device, away from the electricity spewing out.

It stuttered and the hum pulling the Chaos Emeralds dulled. The three gemstones barely in the hedgehog's possession fell to the floor, among the field of electrical bomb pieces. Robotnik yelled, glowering at both Tails and Sonic while working furiously at his controls to get it functional again.

Sonic braved the voltage, grinding his teeth at the shock but nonetheless picking up the jewels quickly and stowing them back in his quills just as he heard the damn humming start up again. He sped up the side of the wall, turning back around. Tails was still hovering, waiting and keeping himself a low profile while the crazy engineer was distracted.

With a skip the hedgehog zoomed over the charged minefield, barely avoiding a new bomb that Robotnik had gotten his machine to drop. This time, however, Sonic looked to Tails as he rounded up the side.

Following the little fox's trajectory, Sonic jumped off the side of the wall, grabbing the kit's arms and sending the duo down only slightly before Tails adjusted for the weight. They both flew up into the air, Sonic quickly releasing his grip and spindashing into the machine again. The more calculated move allowed the hedgehog to supply more brunt force to his actions and the contraption visibly bent from his assault.

The electrical bomb the grappling hook was holding dropped preemptively and only one Chaos Emerald found its way out of Sonic's possession. Braving the electrical barrage again, the speedy blue Mobian sped up and grabbed it, gaining as much velocity as he could with a floor of sparking currents.

By the time this was over his quills were going to be totally singed.

Tails continued to fly like a ninja, never nearing Robotnik nor gaining his attention as the doctor struggled to keep his machine in working order. He followed along Sonic's trajectory smoothly, waiting for the hedgehog to make his next move.

"Your machine even fails at _sucking_, Eggman!" Sonic hollered out, rewarding himself with an impressive scowl from the doctor.

"We'll see about _that_, rodent!" Robotnik bellowed, slamming down on the controls with absolute fury. In retrospect, Sonic would have been wise to not egg the so-called Eggman on.

The mad doctor's machine ramped up ten-fold, motors grinding and agitating and electrical sparks nearly a flurry along the grappling hook. Sonic cried out as that weird shared wavelength of Chaos energy was invaded once again, the three gemstones in his possession pulling completely away from him and floating on their own accord, towards the grappling hook.

"It's his emerald!" Tails yelled out to Sonic, flying in a swinging motion to constantly stay on the same side as Sonic. "He's amplifying their connection with each other!"

"Smart little freaks," Robotnik mocked, turning his attention to the fox in the air, "should keep to themselves!" Without any appropriate weapon to turn on Tails, Robotnik opted to drive his mobile threateningly towards the fox instead, forcing the kit to divebomb downwards out of the way.

But Tails was persistent. The kit flew around the mobile and back up to the dashboard, slamming his hand onto a button and causing the hovercar to veer downwards six feet before Robotnik put a stop to it. Before the doctor could form words, Tails landed on the lip of the mobile, outside of the tiny windshield on it, and leaned over to pull a lever in the opposite direction.

The hum died down and the emeralds once again clattered to the floor. Sonic was watching Tails apprehensively, disliking the kit's close proximity to the madman. The speedster nonetheless continued to move along the ramp, slowing down to retrieve the jewels again, just as Robotnik grabbed at the lever and tried to pull it out of the kit's grasp.

"You incessant _fly_! LET GO!"

Tails did not and, after a moment of wondering, Sonic realized he was biding the hedgehog time. With the eggmobile now lower to the ground, Sonic could reach it with some well-timed accelerations and jumps.

And honestly, what was he better at?

A grin formed on the edges of his mouth as he sped up, jumping over the electrical river and back up the ramp, back down and back over, just a little more speed—

_Perfect._

Sonic pushed off with insane force at the top of his pendulum run, straight into the side of the contraption. Tails flew out of the way just as Sonic buzz-sawed the metal holding the electrical grappling hook to Robotnik's eggmobile.

He spun hard, refusing to let up, and the metal creaked and cracked and groaned before something finally gave. With a silent shuddering the grappling hook and its connectors fell to the floor, filling that momentary silence with an explosion of sparking fury.

With his speed gone, his spinning slowed and Sonic jumped lightly back and fell. He was tired and slightly dizzy but all too aware of the deathtrap below. He just needed to try and veer—

Two hands caught one of his own, Sonic instinctively tightening the hold even as he looked up in surprise at the now-panting Tails above him. The kid had been nonstop flying in this room and had been routinely lifting Sonic, to boot.

Robotnik was cursing again about foxes and hedgehogs, angrily punching at his controls as he flew his mobile up high. Sonic watched as a wall of the ramp _opened_ and the doctor flew threw it, his metaphorical tail tucked tightly between his legs.

"Tails—!"

"On it," he breathed out. He flew them up to the doorway, hurrying when they both realized it had already started to close. Tails swung Sonic into the hidden panel, trying to release his grip, but Sonic held tight to the fox, pulling them both into the tunnel before the wall completely closed back up.

As soon as the hedgehog felt floor—honest to Chaos friction-filled _floor—_he zoomed ahead through the barely lit passage, pulling Tails along for the ride. The tunnel slanted upwards, obviously heading outside if the faint light peeking out through the crevices was any hint.

Sonic raced up the straightaway, seeing the mobile just ahead. He could still feel the Chaos Emerald the doctor had in his possession, continuing to taunt him even after the destruction of Robotnik's electrical machine. Just … a little … closer!

The mobile shot upwards, out of sight, and dim light suddenly cascaded inside. Sonic pulled Tails close as they neared the same opening, jumping out without fear just as the wall or floor or whatever it was slid shut again. The bright neon lights in the obstacle course had made the hedgehog's eyes weak to muted tones, turning the faint light of dusk into a heavily shadowed landscape. He squeezed his eyelids shut and opened them, blinking harshly to try and force his pupils to adapt faster to the dark atmosphere.

Where did Robotnik go?

They were in an alleyway, along the side of the casino they had originally entered. Sonic turned around and noticed that a dumpster had taken residence where they had just escaped from. A more careful observation showed lines along both the floor around the dumpster and the building wall behind it, a decoy to hide the entrance to Robotnik's weird discovery zone of neon lights and ridiculously slippery floors.

Sonic let out a stressed breath. Where _was he_? He tried to hone in on the emerald in Robotnik's possession again and was infuriated when he was met with _nothing._

"What the hell?! He had the emerald, I felt it, and now it's gone. They can't just disappear!" Sonic cried out, more to himself than to Tails. At the thought of his friend Sonic looked to him. "Can you fly us to the roof, Tails? He has to be here somewhere—there's no way he could've gotten that far!"

The vulpine was on the ground rubbing his tails and grimacing. He looked up at Sonic with absolute dismay, but obediently stood up, spinning his tails and lifting himself about a foot off the ground before he whimpered and fell back to the concrete.

"I can't, Sonic," he admonished. "I'm really sorry, my tails are all cramped from flying so long." He shakily tried to stand again even as he spoke, rotating his tails and biting his lip as he attempted to fight through whatever pain he was experiencing.

The hedgehog, in his waning adrenaline, realized he was pushing the little fox too far. He calmed his nerves and the mental urge to _end_ _this_. Robotnik still only had one Chaos Emerald. Sonic had three. There were still three unaccounted for, but he had shredded Robotnik's mobile well enough that the doctor would have to hide out for at least a day or two to lick his wounds.

They had time. _They had time_.

Sonic let out another, calmer, breath. He put a hand on Tails' shoulder as the fox tried to helicopter into the air again. "Whoa, buddy, take it easy. It's okay, let your tails rest." The hedgehog smiled down at his charge as he remembered the events inside. "You did awesome in there."

Tails was still standing but had at least stopped twisting his namesakes. He blinked up at Sonic and studied his face. "Really?" he asked, hopeful.

"Seriously, keed, you were amazing. We make a great team," Sonic added sincerely. And he really did mean it: between following Sonic's trail to anticipating the hedgehog's plan of action, Tails gave him the height he needed when he needed it and the brains to hinder Robotnik and give them the leverage to win.

Unfortunately, Robotnik seemed to gather that as well.

Sonic swallowed that worry, glancing once more around the area they had found themselves in.

"He knows how to amplify his emerald's energy, too."

The voice cut into the silence and Sonic returned his attention to Tails. "You mean how we're tracking them?" he asked.

The fox nodded. "And he also knows how to magnify their attraction to one another. His machine was really good at pulling the Chaos Emeralds to each other." This time the kit looked sadly to the ground. "I don't know how to do that."

"Big guy, you've barely learned there was more than one of these things in existence."

Tails ignored his comment, his mind already moving along in his thought process. "But I think the machine was very short-range. I don't think he could make it attract emeralds from far away, at least not yet."

Sonic wasn't a fan of the "not yet" part but chose to bite his tongue on that sentiment. At least the machine was destroyed. Hopefully it would be impossible to rebuild, or at least complex enough that Robotnik wouldn't have time to concoct another one before their next encounter.

The sun was long gone over the horizon, the purple hues of evening darkening in the lightless alleyway. The bustling night life on the main drag, however, reached the hedgehog's ears from the far end of where they stood. He nodded tiredly towards the busy street, already walking in that direction. "Let's head back to the hotel, kiddo. I still owe you some mint candy."

Cramped tails couldn't hold the fox back as he followed Sonic with newfound energy.


	8. Hill Top

_Hill Top_

* * *

"Volcanic belt."

"Huh?"

"That's what the brochure said, inside the hotel."

Sonic eyed his companion as they stood along the top of a mountain, which happened to be a part of the Hill Top region that the next Chaos Emerald was located. They had slept one more night in the hotel to rest up and fuel up, then left early in the morning to hopefully avoid traveling at night.

"And what is a volcanic belt?" Sonic asked, turning his sights back to the vast scene before them.

"The outside mountains are normal mountains, like this one," Tails explained easily. "But the mountains inside are where the volcanoes are. The brochure said that no one lives at the base of Hill Top because of all the earthquakes and avalanches."

"Huh," Sonic said again, but without the questioning undertone. The terrain beyond was treacherous, with multiple vertical drops, rocky pathways, and—squeezing his eyes to take in the valleys more clearly—maybe some volcanic rock, void of greenery and instead dark gray and ashy.

"The brochure also said that tour guides take you up the south side of the mountains and show some ancient civilization's remnants that still remain, including super old pulley systems that they used to travel quickly across the mountaintops."

Goody, more ancient civilizations. Sonic hoped that they weren't close cousins of those that lived in the Aquatic Ruins.

"Was it pricey?" Sonic asked, not because he cared, but because he got a kick out of Tails' seemingly endless absorption of random knowledge.

"Was what pricey?"

"The tours in the brochure."

"Oh." Tails pondered this a moment before unearthing the information he had memorized. "It said call for pricing."

Sonic nodded. "Definitely expensive."

Tails appeared ready to respond, confusion etched into his features, before the zone decided to add credibility to Tails' recital of the brochure and the ground beneath their feet rumbled low and menacingly. It was nothing large; just enough to rattle a few pebbles along the dirt floor.

The combination of earthquakes and lava did not resonate well with the blue hedgehog. A part of him wished the emerald was sitting on a rock twenty feet ahead of them and they could just move on, maybe to another meadowland like Green Hill. Now _that_ was freedom.

He took a long breath and let the Chaos energy guide him, internally grumbling when it told him the Chaos Emerald was definitely farther away, somewhere in the midst of these volcanic mountains. Tails cocked his head oddly and a side-glance told Sonic that he was reading the amplifier on the hedgehog's wrist, coming to the same conclusion.

"All right keed, daylight's burnin'," Sonic proclaimed, walking up to the ledge and peering over. They had come up the southwest side of the mountains, so he was not surprised to see one of those telltale pulley systems several yards down. The chairlift attached to it was laughable, made of wood and vines and how it was still even existing Sonic couldn't have fathomed. But there it sat, waiting to take someone across the long vertical drop below and to the other mountain beyond.

Based off the sheer height that they stood on and the distance to the next hill, Sonic had to admit it would be much faster. On a good day he wasn't sure if Tails could carry him that far, but it had only been one day since their fight with Robotnik in his weird casino-themed obstacle course, and Tails' namesakes were still very sore from their nonstop flying and repeated hauling of the (much heavier) hedgehog.

Nonetheless, Tails could still maybe serve as a last-ditched safe drop to the valley below, should the dilapidated but probably still functional chairlift decide to break.

"How are your tails doing?" Sonic asked, making his internal decision and walking over the to the ancient travel system. Tails jogged to catch up to him, putting two and two together far too fast for a five-year-old.

"Sonic, this thing hasn't been used in forever!" Tails exclaimed, ignoring the question. "There's even a fence around it to keep tourists from trying it!"

Said fence, which was really not a fence but a rope, was easily hoppable, and Sonic provided proof to concept by doing just that.

Tails opted to go under the rope, which was equally easy to do for someone of his height. He still looked put out about the idea, standing next to Sonic and shaking his head as he stared at the contraption.

"Aw, come on Tails, it looks sturdy..." he paused, taking in the state of the vine ropes tethering the platform to the system, "...enough." Without further ado, he jumped over the tiny useless lip on the chairlift base, balancing himself with his arms when it swayed from his weight.

He might've also released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when, thankfully, the thing didn't snap right off and plummet the hundreds of feet below.

"See?" Sonic asserted. Then, of course and without warning, the chairlift started to move. "Whoa—!" his body veered to the side from the sudden movement, his feet following along the path of the chairlift but his torso and head lagging behind.

"Hey, wait up!" his fox friend called indignantly, flying over and landing next to Sonic. The hedgehog steadied him when he too began to teeter.

"Apparently this thing doesn't have a start button," Sonic warily commented, watching as they moved farther and farther away from the ledge they had been standing on. The pulley system clinked rhythmically as it slowly rolled horizontally across the ropes made of vine.

Tails pondered his statement briefly before inspecting the connections above them. "Maybe it's triggered by weight," he offered. His eyes veered downwards, taking in the long vertical drop below. "But I still don't think this is a good idea," he added softly, his confidence strong enough to mention it but not quite strong enough to be opinionated about it.

Sonic grinned. "What are you worried about? You can fly."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to _fall_ before I fly," Tails reasoned. "Plus, I think my tails might fall out if I gotta carry you more."

"Hey now, that's all muscle weight, y'know."

For the first time ever, Sonic witnessed Tails rolling his eyes, smiling at the quip nonetheless and all-in-all acting like a normal kid. It was refreshing.

Then, because the two Mobians hadn't had enough action recently, there was a small jolt as the line started aiming downwards. The lift picked up speed naturally, thanks to gravity, and the platform swayed from side to side for a moment, creaking. Both hedgehog and fox stared worriedly at one another.

_SNAP_

"Uh, what was—?"

In answer to the unfinished question, one of the multiple vine ropes making up the pulley system broke and slingshotted past them, flailing backwards before becoming a dangling root. What was a controlled flow became faster and faster and _faster_ as the chairlift no longer had resistance along the downward slope.

They were on a runaway cart and flying down a partially broken tether.

"Sonic!"

The hedgehog, doing his best to simply maintain standing, followed the voice with his eyes. The kit was pointing ahead of them, towards the side they were soaring towards. "We're too low! We're gonna crash into the side of the cliff!"

Whatever had snapped had apparently caused the combined weight of the chairlift and two Mobians to put sag on the rope, bending it below where it would normally drop them off along the other mountainside. And that wall of rock was coming up awfully fast.

"All right, Tails, you fly and I'll jump!"

"What if you don't make it?!" Tails cried, holding the lip of the chairlift base for balance but fearfully peering back at Sonic.

"I'll make it," Sonic assured, already focusing on the ledge and the timing. They were going fast enough for him to clear the top; he just had to make sure his jump wasn't too early, which would send him careening down to the valley below, or too late and end up becoming pancake splatter along the side of the mountain.

Easy enough, right?

"Fly!" Sonic insisted, wanting to make sure Tails got the lift he needed. The fox obeyed reluctantly, spinning his namesakes and heading towards the edge that was rapidly approaching. Sonic returned his own focus towards it. Wait for it. Wait for it….

…_now_!

He jumped, rolling into a ball as a precaution. That way, if he did misjudge the timing, he would at least give the mountain a worthwhile fight. Thankfully he ran into no rock faces; he was able to clear the top of the ledge and saw the ground just before uncurling, running a few steps before slowing to a stop on one knee.

"Now _that's_ travelling in style!"

He couldn't shake the cool grin plastered on his face as he stood and Tails landed softly next to him.

"Way cool, Sonic!"

"Well, I do try—"

More rumbling incurred before Sonic could finish speaking, as if the mountain itself was grumbling about egotistical hedgehogs that thought they were all that. Tails and Sonic both hopped back and forth as their path shook enough to fizz up a soda can.

Eventually it subsided and the duo carried on along the top of a few mountain peaks, going downhill as the tops of the crags overlapped but never going as low as the valleys below. Sonic's speed was heavily hindered by the loose rocks lining the ground, which also happened to roll with each earthquake that decided to plague the area. But, since Tails couldn't fly much at the moment anyways, the slower speed worked out for both of them.

Robotnik's previous presence in the area was unfortunately made known not long after, when they ran into a crab-like robot with a very sharp, tall shell covered in spikes.

Sonic pushed Tails back as they slowed to a stop, eyeing it cautiously. It had its back to them and was patrolling a relatively flat field, slowly moving away until it decided to about-face. Once it turned around and started heading back it finally recognized the enemies ahead, but did not charge or aim at them. Instead—and without warning—its shell shot off, sending it high into the air like a rocket.

"What the—?"

Both Sonic and Tails' heads rolled up as they watched the giant spike shoot up into the air, decelerate, and eventually plummet back to the ground, landing uselessly about three feet away from the now naked bot.

"Flawed designs," Tails reiterated.

"Maybe the idea is I'm going fast and try to jump over him..?" Sonic suggested, though without much sentiment. He shrugged and jumped over the essentially defenseless bot, watching Tails do the same. When he turned back around he found himself face-to-face with a ball of fire.

"WHOA!"

Sonic skidded on his back, not unlike a baseball player stealing second base, and barely let the fireball fly past him. He turned on his stomach and yelled, "Tails! Duck!"

The kit had just jumped the shell-less robot and hardly had time to react, but he followed suit, falling to his stomach a second before the fireball soared where his head had been.

The blue Mobian breathed a huge sigh of relief, pulling himself up on his knees to get up.

"No, stay down Sonic!"

The hedgehog fell back to the floor on command, still facing Tails but looking up to see another one … two … three flaming balls fly past both of them. They were not fast like you would expect from a projectile, but strong enough to knock you off your feet if you got hit with one.

Not to mention probably catch fire, but, well ... details.

After a couple beats Tails quickly stood, having the advantage of facing towards the direction they were heading, as well as seeing the source of the fireballs. He was mesmerized by something ahead, a familiar gleam in his eyes that Sonic recognized instantly.

"Wait, Tails—" he started, standing up himself.

"It's on _fire_, Sonic!" Tails excitedly said, running by Sonic who failed to catch the vulpine's arm along the way. The hedgehog sighed loud enough to groan as he stood up, turning to see what had piqued the fox's interest so much.

It was an Orbinaut. He had seen them before on South Island, though there they were just floating metal balls that shot spikes. This one seemed to be of the same basic design, but perhaps more treacherous considering it was so hot the metal looked red.

"Okay, it's not on fire but it is super hot. How is that not melting the mechanics?" Tails wondered out loud, circling the weaponless robot and studying it.

"Be careful, Tails," Sonic warned, though he realized that, as long as Tails didn't touch the flaming hot robot ball, he was pretty much safe. The creature didn't seem all too offensive on its attacks, hovering on a pre-determined course and keeping to it despite the fox's thoughtful observation of it.

"He must have put a special casing on it, to protect the components," Tails mumbled, still circling it as it moved about rather languidly. "The fireballs it shot out must have a coating on them to make them burn, but still be functional as a missile," he continued, nearly reaching out to touch the damn thing. Sonic's spines bristled before Tails realized what he was doing and stopped. Shaking his head out of his digression, he turned back to Sonic and smiled. "Ready?" he asked.

How many sighs now? Sonic nodded and pulled ahead of the super curious kit, hoping that by at least taking the lead he could ward off a majority of the dangers in this place.

As they traversed the next mountain top the heat rose uncomfortably, and not from the sun's peak height above them. As they rounded the top, avoiding a few more of the poorly executed spike robots and rather limited Orbinauts with their odd hovering fireballs, Sonic realized with a resigned realization that they had reached the lava, the product of this place's volcanic activity. The pits checkered the rock field below them and were bright orange, a stark contrast to the grays and greens surrounding them.

"You don't think an emerald is, you know, _in_ the lava, do you?" Tails asked, quietly appearing next to the hedgehog and staring at the amplifier.

Sonic felt the pull south but shook his head. "Nah, keed; it's probably nearer to the valley, at the base of one of these mountains."

"The next mountain is real high, though," Tails remarked, glancing past the lava pits and stepping towards the looming hill beyond. "If it's not in this next valley then we're gonna have to go over it."

"There might be a way around," Sonic suggested, still studying the area.

"Should we go around the lava pits, too?"

Sonic didn't get a chance to answer. The next earthquake decided to hit at that moment, stronger than the rest. They were still on the side of a steep hill and were now faced with a sliding, shaking floor.

The sliding grew louder.

Sonic glanced back up from where they had come from and his eyes widened. "Run!" he called, trying his best to gain speed along the ever-changing floor. Tails was staring up at the oncoming avalanche Sonic had seen, only snapping out of it as the hedgehog grabbed his wrist on the way past. "Move!" he yelled again.

The quake, one of numerous in this area, did not have to work hard to shake loose the heavy boulders that decorated the mountainside. They rolled along the smaller pebbles lining the trails, not to mention Sonic and Tails' escape path, and quickly gained on them as the duo reached the lava pits. They raced along the relatively flat area, Tails using his namesakes to take to the air and Sonic doing his best to navigate around the hot springs of molten rock. His speed was limited as thick and viscous lava bubbled along the hedgehog's path, spitting little bits of insanely hot fire that he did _not _want touching him.

"Keep going!" Sonic instructed, though it wasn't like either of them felt like stopping to admire the lava pits.

As the rocks from the avalanche reached the valley they were in, thunderous splashes combined with screeching sizzling told the hedgehog that some of those rocks had found the open pits. He imagined a majority of them shot lava outwards like a fountain from the abrupt contact, but thankfully they were far enough ahead to not worry about splatter.

Regardless, he couldn't risk a glance back to confirm any of the sounds he had heard, as his sights were glued to the tiny pockets of orange and deep, deep red that littered the area they were in. One wrong step was all it would take.

They were about three-quarters of the way there now and the heat was unbearable. The rumble of the earthquake had subsided, as well as the avalanche that had initiated from it, but neither stopped or slowed because it was so suffocatingly _hot_. The upcoming mountain was treacherous, a sharp and nearly vertical incline that Sonic couldn't think about climbing at the moment, mostly because he was having trouble breathing. His fur was soaked with steam that seemed to entirely blanket the valley they were in, weighing him down even more.

As they finally, _finally_ made it to the end and got away from a majority of the lava springs, Tails crashed to the ground, Sonic stopping abruptly next to him. Both Mobians were panting and covered in bits of ash that still inundated the area.

"You okay, big guy?" Sonic asked, plopping his tired butt onto the ground. The fox next to him was splayed completely on his stomach, breathing like he had ran a marathon.

"Yeah," he breathed out. "I … think so," he added, timing it with his breaths to reserve what little energy he had left.

Both took a few minutes to regain their strength, the area they rested at still hotter than Hades but at least a breathable underworld. Sonic managed a glance behind them at the next crag, eyes travelling upwards towards its peak but his body telling him _south_.

They were close.

"Sonic, look."

The hedgehog gazed back at Tails, who had sat up and was pointing straight ahead. Scanning the area, Sonic saw what the fox did: an entrance in the base of the mountain, small—and maybe nothing more than a tiny cave—but definitely there.

They did need to go south, but into a volcanic mountain..?

They should at least inspect it. The Chaos Emerald was definitely not located above them, and Tails had already used his namesakes way more than he should have for Sonic to ask him for a ride over the ridge.

"All right, follow my lead," Sonic instructed, standing up and brushing himself off as best as he could. So much for that shower at the hotel.

He almost pouted when he took a look at his dingy gloves and shoes.

Tails stood up as well, falling in step behind the hedgehog as they reached the mouth of the tiny entrance. It was so small up close that Sonic almost ixnayed the plan, assuming the cave was nothing more than a hole in the mountain, similar to Tails' home back near Emerald Hill.

But as he took a step in and around the corner, he was proven wrong on a monumental scale.

The sheer size of the cave was enough to take your breath away. A cool breeze wafted past, contradicting the familiar orange glow far below them. Outcroppings of various sizes jutted out along the rigid walls, columns of once molten and now cooled rock formations littering the vast expanse before them. It was nature's own obstacle course and, honestly, much prettier than the flashy lights that made up Casino Night's speedy hedgehog trap.

Going up was not an option, at least as far as Sonic could see, and a sudden magical pull encouraged him to make their way down, towards what was most likely the crater of this volcano. A fantastic choice, indeed, he sarcastically decided.

"Stay close," Sonic warned Tails behind him, moving towards the ledge and scoping out potential spots to jump. "Fly if you're not sure you can make the jump, okay?" he added, turning to look at the kit still studying their surroundings with an innocent awe.

His eyes made full circle before making contact with the hedgehog's stern stare, which he quickly nodded to, indicating that he understood.

"They're holding up?" Sonic asked, referencing his charge's tails and realizing how much the fox cub had used them despite their attempts to limit his flying.

Tails nodded again. "Yeah, they're sore but not so bad for short trips by myself," he explained.

_So don't fall and make me catch you_, Sonic heard the next sentence in his head, though he doubted Tails had insinuated that. It was good advice regardless.

The blue Mobian found the first outcropping below and to the left, jumping easily to it and steadying himself for any potential crumbling. Some of the natural platforms looked absolutely fragile and would be obviously avoided, but it was inevitable that some of them _appeared_ sturdy but would instantly collapse with any added weight.

Knowing which ones were like that, though, was unfortunately a happenstance of trial and error.

He looked back up to see Tails watching him, waiting. Sonic got the idea and mentally approved of the caution: Tails would follow him, but would not jump onto the same jutting as him, just in case the weight of two Mobians was too much.

So Sonic took the initiative, plotting his course and leaping over to a column. Tails half-jumped, half-glided down to the platform the hedgehog had just been standing on, and from there fox played follow-the-leader to hedgehog, the duo carefully making their way down the inside of the volcano.

His fourth jump was easy enough, before a giant projectile landed _inches_ in front of him.

"Gah!"

Instinct almost had him jump backwards, which would've been a really really bad idea, considering he was already on the edge of his tiny column. Stopping that very unwise move, Sonic studied exactly what had lodged a few inches into the ground in front of him.

It was a shell with spikes.

Seeing as though it was upside down, Sonic did the geometry in his head and slowly looked up.

Dozens of those stupid crab robots with their stupid shells (except one, now) were upside down, stupidly walking along the underside of outcroppings and walls that were diagonal enough to let them aim their single projectile downwards.

And suddenly their design wasn't as stupid as Sonic originally thought.

Tails had been watching from Sonic's previous perch, following the hedgehog's gaze and realizing the added danger to their descent. He called out, "Are you okay?" and from his viewpoint it probably looked like the spike took half of Sonic's muzzle off.

He wouldn't have been wrong, had Sonic decided to breathe at that precise moment.

"Yeah, just—keep an extra eye out," Sonic called, realizing how useless the comment was but stating it nonetheless. As if jumping on precarious stepping stones inside an active volcano and magma threatening them below wasn't enough, let's add strategically placed robots with a single effective attack to keep it interesting.

He took a deep, calming breath, sidestepping the spike and continuing on his way, his eyes now routinely checking above him.

Aside from a couple more spike drops—though this time Sonic was aware of them before they hit—the trip was more or less uneventful. By the time they made it a third of the way down, the cool breeze had disappeared and a residual heat began rising up to meet them. Sonic jumped onto what he thought was a sturdy column, but it swayed when he landed—just barely, but enough to be felt—and the hedgehog quickly jumped to his next destination just as the floor beneath him crumbled away.

His next outcropping was solid, thankfully, and he watched as his previous rock column broke into pieces. As it collapsed it hit other rock platforms and ledges along the way, destroying those unlucky enough to be in the crossfire and sending all resulting fragments into the lava below.

The splashes were large, but the orange droplets were still too far below to threaten Sonic and Tails. The thick liquid sloshed about slowly, disintegrating the pieces that landed in its grasp instantly.

Sonic looked back up at Tails, who was much higher than he was at the moment, and saw the fox watching with wide eyes. He made eye contact with the hedgehog and gave a small nod, almost reading Sonic's thoughts that said, once again, _be careful_.

The hedgehog swallowed his own anxiety, rerouting his course now that some of his potential landings had just been pulverized. As soon as he jumped he heard Tails fly down, opting to keep following Sonic's trail rather than brave a column or jutting that hadn't been tested yet.

They continued on their way and thankfully had no other close calls. The heat was growing stronger; not like outside by the lava pits, but definitely uncomfortable. The hedgehog hoped to Chaos that there'd be an exit below and that they didn't just travel all this way for naught.

A sudden feeling stopped him in his tracks, on an outcropping next to a large ledge that potentially led the way out. The Chaos Emerald's pull was beckoning him, getting stronger and talking to its three brethren in Sonic's quills. And then it dawned on Sonic that it was in here, somewhere. He had been so steadfast in his approach downwards that he hadn't even been looking around for it, much less keeping mental tabs on its location through their linked energies.

"Damn it," he muttered, turning around and looking back up around them.

Tails had been waiting for Sonic to jump but cocked his head questioningly at the hedgehog when he made no move to leave the projection he stood on.

"It's in here," Sonic called up to him, his eyes searching. "I feel it," he added, though more to himself than to Tails.

The fox seemed to understand because he, too, began searching from his higher vantage point.

And then the rumbling started again.

Both Sonic and Tails brought their arms out to steady themselves as the world around them began shaking, strong like the last one that sent an avalanche after them. Sonic quickly jumped to the longer ledge, peering down its length and maybe, _maybe_ seeing a glint of sunlight at its end. He hoped he wasn't hallucinating it.

"Tails, come on!" he called, ushering him with his hands.

His worry was not in vain. Their obstacle course was not holding up well to the onslaught, a few of the more fragile landings toppling over as the entire structure shook. The blasted crab robots started shooting off their spikes preemptively, apparently triggered by the shaking or the shrapnel that was falling within their target zone.

Tails took to the air, using his namesakes to glide to the outcropping Sonic had stood on previously. The hedgehog motioned quickly with his hands to _hurry_, a lone spike falling between them and making both look up.

The timing could not have been worse for the pink ethereal glow that presented itself up high, along a far edge that they had not traveled near. It would have been missed if not for the earthquake shaking the jewel closer and closer to the edge.

They both had seen it.

* * *

Everything was falling down around Tails. Rocks, spikes, boulders … and now maybe the pink Chaos Emerald.

It was on the far side of the cave, through the turmoil, but not too high: he could fly up, grab it, and head back. But Sonic was already shaking his head at him when he turned that way.

"No, Tails!" he yelled, answering the unasked question. His tone was muffled over the thundering of rock rain.

This was the kit's chance to prove he could do it. He _knew_ he could do it. "I can get it!" he insisted, also shouting. "I'll be fast!"

"We have to get out of here!"

"It's gonna fall in the lava!"

"We'll find another way!"

"Sonic—"

"Tails, come on!"

"_Trust me_!"

It wasn't that Tails couldn't just disregard Sonic and go get it anyway. He knew he could do that. But he needed Sonic to _let him_ do it. After everything that they'd been through together in such a short amount of time, and how upset he had gotten when Tails had been injured, the little fox needed to know that he was not a hindrance.

He wanted Sonic to believe that he could do this.

They stared hard at each other for what felt like forever but was only seconds. The world was falling down around them and that same storm was in Sonic's eyes, the one Tails had seen after their trip through the chemical plant.

Sonic did not answer, but he resigned by giving one curt nod.

Tails wasted no time. He turned and ran, leapt off the ledge and flew up just as the pink gemstone rolled to the right, then to the left, teetering on the edge. A spike whizzed by his shoulder and he banked away from it, looking up to see a few more large boulders coming down, knocking back and forth between the columns and rock formations in their way.

Tails pulled back next to another column, watching as the boulders boomed and crashed through his travel path. Their heavy hitting jostled the Chaos Emerald more and its pointy end finally found the lip of the ledge, tipping downwards.

He gasped and put as much oomph as he could into his flight, biting his tongue at how his tails ached and how much they protested. His eyes glanced up once, briefly, before throwing himself at a downward angle, arms outstretched—

—and feeling the weight of the emerald as it landed in his palms. The kit hugged the pink jewel to his chest, turning around and verifying clear skies before heading back to Sonic.

He dodged two more spikes and winced as a couple slightly larger pebbles nicked his back, but it was not enough to slow him down. He flew straight to Sonic, whose arms were out and beckoning to him, and when he got there he landed squarely in them, allowing Sonic to speed down the straightaway like a bullet.

Tails was still squeezing the jewel to him firmly, his eyes clenching shut from the scarily tight fit of the tunnel they were in. The ground still roared, even above the sound of wind rushing past them, and Tails noted with a twinge of panic that the ceiling was low and _getting_ lower, or they were getting taller.

Was their pathway closing up? Were they going to be squished like bugs in this mountain?

The fox curled further into himself, the pink glow of the Chaos Emerald nearly masked by his fur that now surrounded it. He risked one last glance ahead, hope resurfacing when he saw daylight filtering through from somewhere.

And then, in a giant burst, they were outside.

Sonic tripped or stumbled or purposely fell forward, Tails couldn't tell, but as soon as they'd exited the cave they were both rolling along grass, Tails keeping himself practically in a ball around the Chaos Emerald and afraid to let go. At the speed they had been going Tails kept pace in a tumble far longer than his equilibrium was equipped for. When at long last he stopped, he couldn't even bring himself to move, instead staying face-first into the ground, Chaos Emerald below him and his knees half-propped, half-tucked under him in a very awkward position.

"Tails!"

Steady hands gripped his shoulders and turned him over, way before the wooziness had subsided. He blinked to try and focus on Sonic.

"You okay, buddy?" he asked worriedly.

"Dizzy," was all Tails could reply with, eventually finding the strength to try and sit up. Sonic assisted him, putting a hand on his back to prop him up until he managed to keep the position on his own. Finally feeling like a sentient being again, Tails glanced down at the pink jewel still in his arms and smiled up at Sonic.

"I did it!" he said proudly.

"You sure did, li'l bro—uh, buddy," Sonic replied, grinning at him and slapping him on his back. "You were amazing," he added sincerely, standing up and offering Tails a hand.

Tails took the hand, his other still keeping a firm grip on the emerald. Had Sonic just called him 'bro'? The hedgehog pulled him to his feet, keeping a hold of his hand until the fox managed to remember how to stand.

Did he mean brother, like a nickname? Little brother? Tails looked up at Sonic and was about to ask, but the hedgehog was already scanning ahead at what lay beyond. Maybe Tails was thinking too much into it. It was one syllable, and Sonic corrected himself, so maybe there had been something in his throat, or he just misspoke.

Tails didn't even know why it mattered to him. But this small, nagging feeling in the back of his consciousness told him he had hoped it meant brother. He didn't even quite understand why.

Up ahead Sonic sighed. "I guess we gotta brave the pits one more time to get out of here."

The vulpine walked up next to Sonic, who stood on the edge of a long, flat rock. The surface they were on shallowly dipped a dozen feet and led into another field of lava pits.

Tails sighed too, at that. The last valley of lava holes, or whatever they were, was sticky hot and he could barely breathe as they had traveled through them. Never mind the fact that, this time, he would probably have to walk or run. His tails were _hurting._

Taking one last proud look at his possession, Tails handed the pink Chaos Emerald over to Sonic. The hedgehog glanced at the offering before smiling and stowing it away within the confines of his spines, which had to be really strong to hold four Chaos Emeralds in them.

They both studied the layout ahead again, silent.

"This feels like a trap," Sonic commented.

Tails nodded in agreement. "It's too quiet."

"Only way out, though."

"Yeah."

"What's that ahead?" Sonic asked, pointing beyond the landscape of pitted orange and deep red.

Tails squinted and noticed a thick overgrowth of trees, but just the tops of them. The end of Hill Top seemed to be there, slanting down into a forest with the growth of the trees going as far as they could before the heat wilted them.

He wracked his brains for the information he needed, trying to remember what side of the volcanic belt they were on. "Uh, that should be the Mystic Forest," Tails finally answered.

"I think the next emerald's in there," Sonic stated, frowning at it.

More silence. Eventually Sonic took a few steps forward. "Let's get this over with," he declared, turning to look at Tails. "Keep close and expect, well … anything."

Tails had to agree with that fair warning. He bobbed his head in understanding and followed the hedgehog on foot, causing the hero to stop halfway down the hill.

"Wait, you're not gonna fly?" he questioned. He had turned around again, this time his hands splayed out as if attempting to stop Tails from progressing.

The fox shook his head. "My tails are sore," he explained simply.

"Oh. Right," Sonic replied, not exactly thrilled in his tone. He said nothing more, though, instead continuing their trek through the insanely hot stretch of land.

As Tails followed, he understood Sonic's hesitancy: lava bubbled and spurted tiny bits of molten rock along their path, way too close for comfort. Sonic had taken to a slow jog, at a speed that was somewhere between the haste of getting out of there and also maintaining caution, not to mention reserving energy.

The heat felt blistering. Tails' fur was starting to stick together in patches, his sensitive nose felt sunburned, and his eyes watered from the steam and smoke that would occasionally make residence in front of his face. This was awful.

So when the ground started rumbling again, the little fox froze, watching a couple of the pools slosh.

"Over here!" Sonic called, running back to Tails and grabbing his arm. They quickly bolted over to a small, raised surface—no more than four feet tall or so—but flat and wide enough to let them stand in the center and be out of the way of the potential spillover of lava below.

One large pit in front of them started gurgling more than the rest, causing Tails to almost hypnotically take a step forward.

The lava raised, like one giant bubble was about to pop. Sonic pulled Tails back and brought both of them to the far edge as a precaution. But the bubble didn't burst: the lava broke apart in pieces and fell forward, splashing with thick _plops_ into the pool below, and metal—flaming red searing metal—gleamed in its place.

Robotnik's mobile hovered, heavily fortified with armor and equipped with what looked like a giant flame thrower on top. He was practically hidden inside the contraption, the giant roof and tiny, partially opaque window so thick that Tails couldn't make out much more than glasses and a mustache.

The design must've been limited, as Robotnik did not speak from it. Tails guessed the doctor had to be hermetically sealed in the weird submarine to be able to submerge it in lava. So, instead, the crazy doctor used actions to display his message, firing his weapon on the top of his mobile and sending balls of fire in their direction.

Tails didn't see another option. He took to the air, grabbing one of Sonic's arms, and hauled both of them to another raised surface, this one only a couple feet above the lava pits below. He let out a hiss from the cramp he got from the small flight but covered it quickly. Turning around he saw the ground they had been standing on ignited, the high heat of the fireballs burning unhindered along the rock floor.

Robotnik did not give chase; he went back under the lava instead, the thick liquid splattering angrily from the invasion.

As soon as he had disappeared within its depths the ground shook, as if Robotnik's mobile traveling within the lava was the cause of it. It would be, if the network of pits along the surface was one giant pool of lava below them…

"Tails!"

The fox looked over at Sonic, the hedgehog's expression a mix of focus and unease. He kept his sights on their surroundings but made sure Tails was listening: "I'm going to draw his fire. I can jump along the high parts. I want _you_ to get to those trees!"

"But Soni—"

"Go! The emeralds will protect me. It's the only way I can destroy 'buttnik's machine!"

Tails had no idea what the hero meant, but didn't have a chance to question him, much less argue with him on splitting up. Heavy gurgling came from the lava pit nearest their resting spot, the same dome shape developing as the lava slowly slid away to reveal the red-hot metal of the eggmobile again.

Sonic was already shooing Tails away. "Go, quick!"

He had no choice but to take to the air, watching as Robotnik aimed his fire weapon at Sonic and shot. The hedgehog ran and leapt to another raised area, clambering up it as it was much taller than the one they had been on. The fireballs burned aggressively along the rock floor, but Tails noted that the first platform they had stood on was no longer burning, which meant Sonic wouldn't run out of places to retreat to.

At Tails' current height it didn't seem like Robotnik could reach him, either. Thankfully, the doctor had yet to take into account a flying fox when he designed his death machines to take down Sonic.

He couldn't hover much longer, however. He was going to really injure something if he didn't rest his tails, and soon. Tails still hesitated, though, watching as Robotnik went back under the lava and Sonic stood on his perch, eyes closed. Wait, what?

There was a soft haze around him, not unlike when the hedgehog had healed himself with the Chaos Emerald and it had glowed. Then, without warning, the haze transformed and the hero was surrounded by a thick blue _something_ and became completely obstructed.

"SONIC!" Tails screamed, flying over to him.

"No Tails, it's fine!" Sonic shook his hands to ward off the fox, causing the kit to slow to a stop and hover next to him.

Sonic was barely visible within the blue field that enveloped him. From the outside looking in, Tails could see some odd, eerie ribbon defying physics and wrapping around the hedgehog, though with empty space between it and him. It was like a force shield, encasing him protectively in some sort of matter that would probably deflect anything thrown at it.

Well, that _would _make it a force shield then, Tails concluded to himself.

The familiar sound of burbling directly below him made the fox fly away, turning around to see Sonic standing at the ready with his blue armor. As soon as Robotnik was visible—and even with bits of lava still falling off the machine—Sonic jumped and rammed into him, jarring the flame thrower and sending Eggman splashing back into the molten rock.

The shield seemed to be protecting him from the untouchable metal. Sonic bounced off the mobile—unharmed—as the contraption fell back into the lava, and found another safe rock to stand on and wait. His shield flickered from the attack and disappeared momentarily, but reformed itself when Sonic closed his eyes and waited.

With a pang of sadness, Tails realized he really wasn't needed in this fight. He couldn't carry Sonic right now and he couldn't help attack Robotnik since his machine was practically on fire. He was starting to feel a sharp cramp in his tails again, so he reluctantly made his way over to the trees, where he could at least rest up and keep a close eye on everything.

A wayward fireball launched past his nose, close enough to burn and forcing the kit to tumble to the ground out of surprise, between two sloshing lava pits. He scrambled back up on his feet, rubbing at his nose and trying to decide if the flame had actually burned him, when he saw a flash of red and purple next to him.

He warily inspected his peripheral vision and saw, of all things, a purple dinosaur robot pulling up and out of the lava. Its metal glinted a weird gradient of purple and deep red as its long neck reared up, looked at Tails, and fired.

Tails yelped and took to the air again, trying his hardest to push aside the throbbing in his backside and the newfound burning along his calf from the flame that had nicked his leg. He pulled up into the air, higher than the dinosaur bot—its long neck _still_ rising out of the lava—and screeched when another fireball from the other direction grazed under him, catching a part of his glove on fire.

As he frantically tried to smother the flame, Tails eyed a raised ledge and crashed onto it, rolling and confirming his glove was no longer afire. He jumped back up to check his surroundings, his anxiety peaking at what he saw: from where he stood there was a heavy border of purple, scorching plesiosaur robots, all wading in multiple lava pits. The ones closest to him wasted no time and began shooting fireballs in his general direction.

Sonic was farther away now, still in a force shield and attacking Robotnik. Purple robots were not in his area, but some of the distant ones along the border seemed to recognize the threat and were shooting at the hedgehog from afar.

Tails hoped Sonic's shield would protect him. For the kit, the only move he had was to fly high, as it didn't seem like the plesiosaur bots could aim upwards. While the evil doctor had certainly mastered robots and machinery that could withstand the searing properties of lava, they were still very limited in mobility, at least.

But the fox was not sure he could take to the air again. He ran to one side of the ledge to avoid a fireball, then ducked to avoid a high one. As he straightened up another three hit the floor and ignited along the rock, setting his ledge ablaze. He pulled himself back to the air, fighting through the cramps, and turned around at the sound of an explosion echoing within the small valley.

What happened next felt like slow motion, but occurred within seconds: Sonic destroyed Robotnik's weapon—the explosion Tails had heard—and a good chunk of the armor with it. Robotnik sank into the lava with a sickening splash as Sonic jumped over to the fox, his shield still functional and flickering with each plesiosaur fireball that made impact and ricocheted.

There was a louder, more ominous rumble as the ground shook and, with little warning, the paths and ridges between the lava pits disappeared. A giant pool of lava began forming and was only becoming larger, Sonic jumping along crumbling stepping stones.

Tails flew to him, his adrenaline the only thing keeping him in the air at this point. Fireballs were still flying and he tried to stay high, but as he neared the hedgehog he dipped, hands reaching out to catch him.

The dark gray rock perches were nearly all gone now and the lava was so hot. He could barely breathe above it but had to get to Sonic. A fireball scraped his leg just as Sonic jumped, so Tails kicked involuntarily to get it away and missed one of Sonic's hands, grabbing only one of them but using his other to at least grip it with both of his own.

What he hadn't expected was Sonic flipping up and over him, pulling them both out of the air and onto the iffy ground below. The hedgehog had practically tackled Tails from the sky and was holding him in his arms, still jumping along the remaining safe floor. The word "safe" was debatable, though, with molten rock nearly inches from the hedgehog's feet. He was pretty sure he saw Sonic splash in some, too.

Despite this, Tails didn't feel the heat like he had before, much less any flesh burning from the orange specks flying each way. He suddenly realized a weird blue transparent curtain had appeared in front of his face, and absently wondered if the shield around Sonic was now around him. It must've been, to avoid not only the lava but the fireballs still pummeling at them as they escaped.

And then the slow motion stopped and the world fell apart. They were near the treetops when the lava and remaining rocky outcroppings around them unexpectedly fell away into darkness. The feeling of freefalling hit Tails' gut like lead.

The treetops ahead suddenly weren't there anymore, either, the entirety of the land they were on falling into an abyss and taking the duo with it.

Sonic was still somehow slowing their descent, jumping from falling debris to tree trunk to _something_, using his speed to basically pinball along the absolute madness engulfing them.

There was a moment when the hedgehog had nothing to aim for, a mere few seconds of just _dropping_ and Tails' instinct to fly overwhelmed everything else. He pushed out of Sonic's hands, startling him, but grabbed the hedgehog's arms and spun his namesakes as hard and fast as he could.

The weight from the two of them made his back spasm and he cried out, fell a few feet but forced himself to pull back up, putting everything he had into reversing their freefall.

He tried to continue at an angle, hoping that somewhere ahead the mountainside hadn't crumbled—because eventually the collapse had to have stopped somewhere,_ anywhere;_ right?—but with no land becoming visible Tails had no choice but to descend blind. Everything was thundering around them as he tried to navigate through the darkness, and the shield Tails had confirmed was still around both of them began to flicker crazily, bits of debris raining down on it as they reentered the throes of chaos.

Sonic was shouting at him but he couldn't hear. It was so dark and loud. A weird updraft of cool air hit him and he breathed it in. Just keep going down at a diagonal, away from where the lava was, and towards the treetops, wherever they went.

His back spasmed so bad he forgot how to spin his tails and he lost control. They plummeted through the darkness and he lost Sonic's grip, crying out and trying to reach for him but no longer seeing anything. Without the physical touch he must've lost the shield, too, because something hit him on his back, sending him falling faster.

He pulled out from underneath it and saw the ground, curling himself into a tight ball just as he hit it and rolled. His momentum was stopped by a giant tree log and he woozily determined that he had at least found the treetops.

Things were still falling and crashing around him. He crawled into a small gap made by another tree log resting at an angle, curling into himself even as his vision tunneled and the urge to sleep became overpowering.

He hoped Sonic was okay.


	9. Mystic Caves

Note: I promise Sonic won't be a grump forever ... he just has a lot of growing up to do.

* * *

_Mystic Caves_

* * *

Well, that didn't go as planned.

Sonic groaned loudly, mostly because this entire day was pretty much summed up that way, and he slowly turned over, off his back, and coughed out what felt like a hairball of dust and ash.

_How_ had this day gone so legendarily bad?

Oh yeah. When they (he) decided to traipse through an active volcanic belt. That sounded about right.

Another groan escaped as he pushed himself up on his hands and knees, coughing more dust out of his lungs. The shield had faded away as soon as he had hit the floor; while the impact had been definitely softened by it, the blue armor had already been waning when he crashed, as it was extraordinarily tiring trying to control Chaos energy into such a specific form.

He had no idea how he even knew how to do what he did, but somehow the Chaos Emeralds had guided him. Anger flared through him when he realized that the emeralds chose _not_ to tell him that he could've protected Tails too, if he had kept the kit with him. Imagine his surprise when he grabbed Tails out of the air to escape with speed, only to see that the force shield enveloped both of them by the fox's contact with Sonic.

Granted, logically that probably would've proven very hard to do, spindashing an eggmobile coated in lava with a fox on his back, but maybe he could've found a way to protect him at a close distance?

Sonic stood up, brushing the thought aside and slowly rotating his shoulders to confirm no lingering injuries existed. Memories of his charge made his anxiety peak and he scanned his surroundings for any sign of Tails.

His breath hitched at the scene before him. Rocks, dirt, giant chunks of freaking land, and a ridiculous amount of trees littered the floor. Sunlight was at least shining in from up above, though it was not very bright; they must've fallen pretty far into the side of the mountain.

A glance behind him confirmed that there was no immediate danger from lava. Wherever the giant pool of magma had gone Sonic couldn't have even guessed, but wherever it was it did not appear to be making its way anywhere fast. He couldn't even see the familiar orange glow he had grown to hate.

And only Chaos knew what had happened with Robotnik. The crazy doctor had literally sealed himself inside his fate as far as Sonic was concerned. A small, dark part of him even hoped he had cracked that stupid armor on the mobile before the madman fell back into the lava.

He shook that thought away, as well. Right now, he needed to find Tails.

"Tai—" Sonic hacked, his vocal cords protesting at the amount of ash he had inhaled. He cleared his parched throat and tried again: "Tails!"

It was a needle in a haystack. He clambered up a pile of dirt, then over a few tree logs, and found a rather large boulder that gave him palpitations because it was _huge_ and if things like that fell on a Mobian…

"TAILS!" he yelled again, trying his hardest to focus on the task and nothing else. He would hate himself later. The fox cub might be trapped or worse and he had to _focus_!

Would the Chaos Emeralds help him? He took a moment to close his eyes and guide his senses to their calling. He felt them, but they were weak. He was tired, they were drained, and he maybe felt the pull of the next jewel but it was not close at all. Sonic's teeth grinded in absolute frustration: he didn't _care_ about finding any more blasted emeralds right now—!

Deep breath. They hadn't been separated in the air for long before Sonic's face met ground. When Tails had foolishly started flying, Sonic had tried to yell at him and tell him that he could protect him: between his spikes and the shield, he could've curled around the fox when they hit the ground. His body was _built_ for it. It's what he did when that giant bot in Casino Night had completely blocked their path.

A vertical drop would've been no different. Frustration crept up in his veins as he hollered for the fox again, slowly sifting through debris and checking every crevice he could find. An argumentative thought deflated those frustrations, however, when it reminded him that Tails had simply acted on instinct. With how they'd been relying on his flying so much, Sonic reluctantly understood why the kit didn't think any differently in that situation.

But it was just another reminder to Sonic on why he did these fights alone.

He had brought a child into a war. It didn't matter that Tails was unique, or smart, or strong. Sonic had stupidly and selfishly put him in harm's way, and now he was somewhere in this destruction, probably injured or _worse_, and he would have to live with that.

"TAILS!" he screamed again, the aggravation, worry, and fear seeping into that one word so heavily that his voice cracked. Deep breath. Focus.

Check the crevices. Under the rubble. Gold-brown fur—maybe more gray now, from all the ash and dirt and dust that got kicked up. So many trees laying on top of each other creates a lot of places to hide—check there.

His thought process was short and blunt, to keep his mind from digressing to the bigger picture. He climbed up and over debris methodically, hesitantly checking in unsurvivable places that he prayed to Chaos would be empty. It had been nearly an hour now and he had called out for the fox so much his voice was hoarse. The reality was beginning to settle in and it made Sonic's heart ache.

His fault. He did this to him.

Focus. Focus. _Focus_.

He had tried to keep centralized in his search, close to where he woke up. Tails could have been in any direction from there, but he had to have been close. Sonic felt a draft from the southeast, cool and wet and earthy. Of course, that could just be the fact that the side of a mountain had opened up, but he studied the draft. Tails had been trying to fly and would have been affected by an updraft. Which direction was it going?

Renewed determination kept Sonic moving, following the weak breeze and searching along that path. His breathing was shallow and fast, pupils dilated in the dim atmosphere, looking for movement, listening for any sounds, or—

Tails! Sonic saw the telltale namesakes under a tree and he slipped off his temporary perch, his entire body shaking and his mind repeating _under a tree, under a tree, under a TREE—_

"TAILS!" he cried out loud, using the momentum of his fall to jump back up and over the collection of trees to the small gap on the floor, sliding on his knees and both hands pressing against the trunk, readying himself to lift it.

"Please please please _please_…"

Sonic nearly burst into tears when he saw, up close, that Tails was not crushed beneath the tree but within a gap created by it and another, angled log. His trembling hands pulled the kit gently away from what looked to be his hiding spot, concern returning when Tails did not stir.

He was breathing, though, a comforting realization to the hedgehog when he saw the slow rise and fall of his back. The fox had curled up into an almost fetal position before falling unconscious, most likely trying to make himself as small as possible during the collapse.

"Tails?" he questioned, hesitantly turning the kit on his back and checking him for injuries. The fox wasn't covered in as much grime as he thought he'd be, so it was easy to pinpoint the blood. Sonic swallowed a heavy lump in his throat at a relatively large shoulder gash, shallow but wrapped around his back and towards part of his neck.

Worriedly, the hedgehog took a hand and brushed it behind Tails' head, pulling it back and seeing more red on his glove. Whatever had hit his shoulder had hit the back of his head, too. But how hard?

He had curled onto the injury, so Sonic checked the floor where he had pulled Tails from. A small patch of blood was visible, but not pooling. He had not lost much blood.

What was he supposed to do? They were in the middle of nowhere, the hedgehog had like basic first aid knowledge, at best—even less knowhow for head injuries, and no supplies—

Wait.

Sonic reached up and pulled out the purple Chaos Emerald, staring at it. He could use it to heal himself; maybe he could heal someone else?

The gemstone was dull, barely purple in the low light of the area and not pulsating at all. The hedgehog swallowed heavily, one hand gripping the jewel tightly and the other gently resting on Tails' shoulder. He closed his eyes and found their wavelength.

The beginning twinges were felt, the Chaos energy flowing through him, and Sonic did everything in his power to _will_ it to the fox. His eyes were closed in concentration, but he could see a faint pulsation from the emerald, bright enough to dance shadows across closed eyelids.

The twinge grew and Sonic's muscles stopped aching.

"No!" he growled out loud, opening his eyes and staring accusingly at the gemstone. "Not me!" he said to it, as if it was listening and deserved a scolding. _He_ wasn't injured, what the hell did they think they needed to heal _him_ for?!

Deep breath, focus, try again.

Eyes closed once more, Sonic returned to the task at hand, running on fumes in the hope department but trying his damnedest to make this work. He could still feel the flow of energy through the emeralds, so much weaker but with four of them in his possession still strong enough. Everything he had done with the gemstones thus far had been on a whim, letting the otherworldly energy personify itself into an ethereal being that somehow told Sonic what to do and how to do it.

This was no different. As far as he was concerned he was on his knees and at the mercy of the Chaos Emeralds, asking them to help his friend; he just needed them to tell him _how_.

The energy grew, but this time Sonic tried to will it to his hand and, by proxy, to the fox's wound beneath it. He felt the shared wavelength course through his veins and an involuntary breath of relaxation escaped him before he realized they were doing it again.

"ARGH!" Sonic yelled out, falling back into a dejected sitting position and rubbing his nose with his free hand angrily. His other hand gripped the purple Chaos Emerald so hard the sharp edges of the jewel dug into his skin, even through the glove.

Why couldn't he do this and _why _weren't they helping?!

He was at his wit's end. Sonic released a shaky exhale, his hand tiredly moving from his nose to his brow. His head went to rest against his palm, his elbow propped against bent knees. The other hand nearly dropped the gem, letting it lie on the floor along with his now listless arm as he did everything in his power to _concentrate_.

It was no use. His mind was a garbled mess of thoughts. He was reminded of the ramp he got trapped on in the underground obstacle course, a hedgehog pendulum going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...

This time, however, it was a pendulum of emotions.

When Robotnik had been nothing but a story to tell, Sonic had agreed to take Tails under his care, at least temporarily. He had the money, the space, and the time, so why not? The fox had reminded him so much of himself at that age, an outcast for his talents and alone in the world … and Sonic had never been able to turn a blind eye.

After the doctor inconveniently made his grand reappearance, Sonic had held fast to his decision, his resolve even strengthening when the fox had used his smarts to get them out of trouble, not to mention saving the hedgehog's life.

But then Tails had gotten hurt at the chemical plant and he had lost it. He had pummeled Robotnik's machine into the pink sludge and had bolted out of there, guilt and regret encompassing his entire being. After all, this was a kid and he was just a teenager, which meant this was a responsibility that he was entirely unprepared for.

Watching the kit solve ancient murder puzzles in swamp ruins and just being actual, honest, enjoyable company at the hotel brought renewed confidence in his decision. They made a great team. Tails' steadfast resolve in that pendulum nightmare in the casino obstacle course—even going so far as facing off Robotnik in his mobile—reminded Sonic that this bond went both ways.

Sonic had always been brute force against Robotnik, but with Tails he had the added advantage of intellectual competition. Robotonik had seriously met his match with the fox kid and it was pure entertainment to see it unfold.

The fox's own physical advantage—his tails—had become a welcoming aid in their adventuring, too. But with it came that nagging responsibility; after all, the kid had a definite hero streak in him, meaning he opted to throw caution to the wind when it came to general survival instincts. It was a character trait that Sonic was guilty of himself, and a reluctant part of him wondered if Tails had learned it from him with his obvious idolization of the blue Mobian.

And then the pinnacle of it all came from one word. Earlier he had called this kit, lying unconscious before him now, his "bro." Like it was nothing. It had slipped out; he had corrected it quickly and pretended it didn't happen. But he had said it and it had scared him.

With that simple word this whole alliance had become more than he had planned for. He had accepted that responsibility on a level he wasn't even sure he understood.

And now that responsibility had turned into accountability. His resolve to protect this fox kid had failed spectacularly. He wasn't ready for this.

"S—Sonic?"

The hedgehog jolted at the sound, nearly smacking himself in the face before leaning forward and crawling over to the fox cub. "Tails?" he cautiously asked, peering over him to see eyes barely opening and blinking heavily at him. "You okay, bud?" he added when he didn't get a response.

As comprehension slowly returned to him, Tails' eyes widened considerably and he tried to sit up. "I dropped you, I'm so sor—"

"Whoa big guy, relax," Sonic interrupted, gently but firmly pressing the fox's shoulders back to the ground. "You got knocked in the head and need to take it easy."

"I did?" he asked quizzically. "It doesn't hurt," he added more softly. His one-tracked mind returned to his previous misgivings, though, eyes tearing up as he looked at Sonic. "I'm sorry I let you go, Sonic, really—it was just so dark and loud and my tails hurt so _bad_ I—"

"Tails, it's okay," Sonic cut him off again. "Please, just … relax right now, okay?" There was an edge to his voice that he had tried to hide, but his frazzled emotions were spread too thin as it was.

For being so young Tails was definitely perceptive. "Are you … mad?" he asked, pulling himself up into a sitting position before Sonic could stop him.

The hedgehog closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, Tails, I'm not … _mad_," he finally offered. "I'm just…" he trailed off, honestly unable to form into words his feelings at the moment.

The silence between the two was deafening. One of Tails' hands came up to his afflicted shoulder, grimacing at the gash. He reached up behind his head and felt where Sonic had noticed the blood.

"We need to get you to a doctor," Sonic finally spoke, his voice cutting the growing tension like a knife.

Tails' eyes widened as he brought his hand back and checked to see the small amount of blood on his glove. "I think it's just a scratch," he softly muttered, his eyes boring holes into the ground.

"I tried to heal you with the emerald," Sonic started, ignoring Tails' comment, "but it doesn't seem to work the same way like when I heal myself." He picked up the purple Chaos Emerald, still in his resting hand, and tiredly inspected it before placing it back in his spines.

"My head doesn't hurt," Tails insisted. "Really, I think something just fell—"

"Doesn't matter, keed, you need to get it looked at," he interrupted before standing up and offering both hands to Tails.

"You _are_ mad," the kit insisted again, quietly, accepting the hands regardless and Sonic slowly helping him to his feet. He kept a hold on the fox until it seemed like he was able to stand on his own, which Sonic was thankful for. Maybe it had just been a scratch.

But it didn't matter. The hedgehog could feel the little resolve he had left crumbling, his raw emotions taking the forefront unwittingly. When he released Tails' hands he rubbed at the bridge of his muzzle wearily, finally answering the kit: "No, Tails, I'm not _mad_—I'm just … tired. Things haven't exactly gone as planned."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to get hurt—"

"Stop apologizing for that!" Sonic sharply cut off the kit. His tone returned to normal, albeit strained, when he added, "It's not your fault, keed, it's _mine_. I just … suck at this."

Tails, still standing awkwardly next to the hedgehog, was momentarily stunned silent from the hedgehog's outburst. "Suck at what?" he cautiously asked.

A long sigh came out. "Protecting you," he answered. He looked away and shut his eyes when he admitted, "I think I gotta take you back, at least until—"

"But you _promised_!" Tails cried out, cutting Sonic off.

The hedgehog could _feel_ the betrayal in the fox's words like a punch to the gut. When he looked back at him he wished he hadn't: Tails' eyes were sharp, but his expression was one of absolute distress.

Sonic brought his hands up in a soothing motion. "I _know_ I promised and I'm not _breaking_ that promise. I'll come back for you."

Tails shook his head, eyes becoming glassy. "I can help though! I have been helping, haven't I? I got you out of the water—"

"Tails—"

"I figured out the puzzle in the Aquatic Ruins—"

"Kiddo, believe it or not—"

"—I even got the one in the volcano! It was going to go into the lava!"

"—I have things under control!"

"But—"

"Tails! I have things under control," Sonic repeated, frustration creeping into his tone. "This isn't the first time I've done this, and I did it alone then. Yeah, you _have_ helped. But you've also gotten hurt. A lot of my time is spent protecting you and that's been a—"

He stopped mid-sentence, realizing his next choice of words. A wary glance at Tails told him the fox had also heard the unspoken word:

_Burden._

He didn't mean it that way. He just wasn't used to looking after someone.

The look on Tails' expression told Sonic, however, that even without uttering that final word he had shattered the kit's hope like a pane of glass.

Sonic's voice quieted when he reiterated, "You _have_ helped and we do make a good team. But until this whole thing with Robotnik boils over, I think it might be best for you to wait back home."

A flash of anger momentarily hid the devastation in Tails' features. "That's not my home and I'm _not_ going back!"

"And I'm not going to have you killed on my watch!" Sonic exclaimed. "Chaos Tails, you shouldn't be a part of this at all. You're a kid, you need to be doing kid things."

"How old are you?"

Well that came out of left field. Sonic blinked and stumbled, "Th-Thirteen, but—"

"Did you get to be a kid?"

Ouch. Sonic's jaw snapped shut. Tails had narrowed his eyes at the hedgehog, but they were still glassy and could not hide the dejection that had completely enveloped his demeanor. Sonic cynically reminded himself that he had put that expression there.

He never answered Tails. The fox audibly sniffed, the arm of his damaged shoulder folded tight against his body and his other hand balled into a tight fist at his side. "I thought being a kid meant having friends. You were the only friend I've ever had."

"Tails—"

"It's not fair! The most fun I've ever had has been with you, finding these emeralds. And now you regret everything!"

"I do _not_ regret—"

A rumble cut off their argument, both Mobians stumbling along the shaking floor. It was a sour reminder to Sonic that they were still within the boundaries of Hill Top, and now also within the deep side of a mountain, where the added risk of cave-ins existed.

"We need to get going," Sonic stated, ending the debate. They would deal with this later, after they got out of this nightmare. Between it and the Aquatic Ruins, Sonic would be very happy to leave West Side Island and never look back.

Thankfully, Tails did not argue. He followed Sonic along the littered path, the hedgehog taking his time to climb over the debris and ensuring that the fox could follow without exerting himself too much. He noticed that the fox's normally spritely namesakes were dragging along the ground, though whether that was due to injury or mood Sonic wasn't sure.

And right now, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Seeing as though they were inside the side of a mountain, it seemed the only way to go was down. After they got through most of the collapse zone, the volcanic ground gave way to moss and grass, sharply declining to the point where the duo had to jump down small rugged outcroppings.

This seemed far too vertical of a descent for the size of the mountain they'd been on, but by the time Sonic realized this fact they had already traversed so far that he wasn't sure if it made more sense to just keep going, and hope that a way out presented itself.

It was around that time that he started noticing their surroundings becoming a lot livelier, as well. The open pathway closed in and green footpaths, shrubbery, long dangling vines, and an almost surreal yellow glow began to encompass their route. Old wooden bridges started providing easy access across jagged ground and, as he studied them, Sonic realized the design was very similar to the chairlifts along Hill Top.

The ancient civilization in the mountains apparently were also inhabitants of the Mystic Forest, or at least along the border to the volcanic belt.

Along those same wooden bridges were old lanterns, and it took Sonic a delayed moment to determine they were the source of the eerie yellow glow. How were lanterns still lit here?

"Keep an eye out, Tails … I think we're trespassing," Sonic finally commented, his worry over their environment winning out over his and the fox's current silent treatment with one another.

"No one lives here," Tails replied without missing a beat. "We're in the Mystic Caves, below the forest. They've been abandoned for a long time."

Well, that explained how far they had descended, at least.

"Lanterns don't light themselves," Sonic retorted, with only a hint of indignation.

"That's not fire," Tails insisted.

Sonic's spines involuntarily bristled. "All right, Mr. Know-it-all, then what is it?" he quizzed, stopping on one of the bridges and pointing dramatically at the subject of debate.

Tails' eyes had widened slightly at Sonic's sudden stop and call-out, but then they narrowed at the hedgehog with an annoyance that Sonic would have classified as condescending if he didn't know Tails better than that.

The fox walked over to the lantern being pointed at, which was tied to a column with the help of some vines. With a solid yank, he dislodged it and inspected its top. Sonic crossed his arms as he watched him, tapping his foot with impatience.

Just when he was about to say something along the lines of, 'I told you so,' the kit decided to throw the lantern onto the ground, shattering it.

"Hey—!" Sonic called out, jumping back from the explosion of glass. The yellow glow from inside the lantern became a swirling mini vortex, flowing up in the air and through Sonic before disappearing completely.

Chaos energy.

"Oh," Sonic breathed out as he absorbed it.

"Chaos Emeralds are like an endless battery," Tails stated matter-of-factly, only briefly smiling before remembering his sour mood. Seemingly satisfied that he had won the argument, he hopped over the broken glass and kept walking.

Sonic swallowed the choice words he had for the moody fox cub, reminding himself once again the root cause of Tails' attitude before trailing after him.

They kept that way for a while longer, neither offering any conversation, and before long Sonic started to _feel_ the utter silence of their location. Once in a while rustling leaves from a breeze would hit them, or a couple insects would croak out a tiny tune, but overall they were in a deserted landscape, walking along old bridges and following lighted trails that probably hadn't been seen in ages.

Well, at least by living beings, anyways.

They came up to a dead end, a huge gap between them and what looked like a wall of vines. A bridge could not be seen anywhere, not even the potential broken remnants of one below. A glance down did reveal thick, menacing spikes though, and definitely not of the natural variety. Sonic was not sure if they were a boobytrap by the old culture that used to live here, or perhaps newer additions by a lunatic doctor that seemed to enjoy overlaying nature with his ugly inventions.

In the end, he supposed it didn't matter.

Above them was thick foliage overgrowth, strikingly green against the almost purple and yellow hues of the caves. They were growing along low-hanging rock ceilings, creating yet another tunnel in this area composed of what felt like an endless network of tunnels. Falling out of the shrubbery were some more vines, dangling low and gently swaying from a moist breeze. With nowhere to go up, forward, or down, it looked like they had reached a dead end.

Tails appeared next to Sonic, also looking below. He paused and looked up, then glanced at Sonic's amplifier still attached to his wrist. With another, longer gaze upwards and then forwards, he finally settled on pointing above them.

"I think that's a lever," he commented, his finger pointing to one of the numerous dangling vines.

Sonic had learned by now to not question Tails' deduction skills. Still, he had to raise a brow at the vine above, as innocuous as the rest of the vines next to it, and wonder exactly what it was that made Tails think that.

"That up there?" Sonic asked, pointing at the vine in question. Tails did not respond but nodded, eyes never wavering from the vine. While Sonic could get a running jump to reach the supposed lever, he was more concerned that Tails just didn't fly up and do it himself.

Unfortunately, getting an answer out of Tails would probably be like pulling teeth at the moment, so he opted to jump instead. He reached the vine easy enough, and with his weight the disguised lever lowered.

_click click click click_

What was once a wall of foliage began lowering at an angle, revealing itself to be the base of a bridge that had been resting upright until Sonic triggered it to lower. Sonic internally sighed; as if he needed Tails' argument to stay and help be backed by—

Thoughts disappeared as he was yanked off the vine, Tails having jumped up and grabbed his feet.

He landed face-first on the floor, nose smarting way more than he'd ever let on, but found the strength to quickly pull himself up and glare at the culprit. Of course, seeing Tails backing away from a giant blue worm robot with spikes littering its body sort of stopped him from berating the kit.

Sonic jumped up and nearly spindashed the side of the worm bot before he realized the spikes on its casing would pulverize him, quill blades be damned. At this point Tails had fallen back onto the ground and was trying scoot backwards, the ridiculously long robot continuing to descend from the foliage it had been hiding in and threateningly advancing on the fox.

The head was the only place where no spikes existed. Sonic jumped and spindashed with precision, slicing the head clean off the rest of the body. Tails covered his face as pieces of metal shredded at close proximity to him. The rest of the robot body went limp without its processor, falling out of the shrubbery above and landing heavily on the ground in a fit of sparks.

And, to add insult to injury, the vine lever Sonic had been dangling from was broken and partially wrapped around the long body of the worm, signifying its original target. _I have it under control_, Sonic mused sarcastically to himself. So much for that argument. He sighed and walked over to Tails, who was slowly trying to stand without using his afflicted arm.

"You okay, buddy?" Sonic asked, hesitant to offer a hand.

Tails glared at the hedgehog, standing up the rest of the way on his own. "Are _you_ okay?" he shot back.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Peachy," he answered, choosing not to acknowledge the jab at him. He turned back around at the now accessible bridge, leading them onwards through the caves. "Come on," he added simply, walking forward.

"I saved your life!" Tails called out.

"So did I," Sonic argued back.

Tails quickly caught up on foot, a scowl on his face as he followed the hedgehog through a long tunnel dipping downwards. "But that still means you needed me," he insisted.

Sonic kept his sights ahead of them, wary of more worm robots, but couldn't resist rolling his eyes at that comment. "Yeah, but I'd also be going about ten times as fast right now if it wasn't for your shoulder and tails."

"It's just a scratch and my tails are fine."

This time the hedgehog did stop, crossing his arms as he looked down at his charge. "Oh? Care to fly and pull that next lever up there?"

Tails glanced up at what Sonic had seen: another bridge was in a vertical position, less hidden by vegetation but with a similar set of vines dangling in front of it.

"You just want me to do it 'cause you don't know which vine it is."

"No, I want you to admit that you can't fly right now."

"I can!"

"Then go right on ahead, keed."

Tails' scowl was still there and Sonic briefly wondered if it had become permanently etched on his face. The fox looked up at the vines, back to Sonic, and went to spin his tails. They spun without issue, but as soon as the fox went to hover he grimaced and brought his feet back to the floor. He tried again to no avail.

"I'm waiting," Sonic chimed in, his foot tapping as he watched the kit.

After the fourth attempt Tails defeatedly landed back on the ground, namesakes falling back to the floor tiredly. He looked back up at Sonic with hurt in his eyes. "Happy?"

Sonic shook his head. "No, not at all. But if that's what it takes to make you see why you need to go to a doctor, then so be it."

"They're just _tired_," Tails exclaimed. "I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you, but that doesn't mean I can't help!"

The hedgehog did not answer. Taking a look back up, Sonic jumped and grabbed at a vine, pulling on it. It snapped and he fell back to the floor in surprise.

"It's that one," Tails said with only a hint of a smirk, pointing at the disguised lever in question.

Wondering not for the first time why karma seemed to be picking on him, Sonic sighed and grabbed at the vine Tails pointed to, feeling the contraption click to life and lower the bridge in front of them.

Beyond the new accessway were more tunnels, some dead ends and some not. They went up and down over hills and thick rock that, whenever the tunnels were first dug, were most likely avoided due to their sheer size. Chaos lanterns seemed to be everywhere, which suggested this civilization had no issues controlling the Chaos Emeralds at one time.

Perhaps it was their downfall, rather than the unstable environment of Hill Top.

A low rumbling, barely enough to shake a pebble on the ground, did remind the blue Mobian that they were still along the base of the volcanic belt and the chance of cave-ins was a very real possibility.

He considered increasing their speed, but multiple times throughout their trip large gaps in the ground gave way to spikes below. Coupled with Tails' shoulder injury and his obvious anger at the hedgehog, Sonic wasn't entirely sure a fast trip would be the best choice to make.

When they reached another bridge, a lone lightning bug robot fluttered by, its entire body consisting of what looked to be a giant lightbulb. It did not appear programmed to attack, as it flew aimlessly by both Mobians, moving similarly to a fly with its curvy and directionless path.

"I can check it for a map," Tails offered, watching it.

Sonic observed it warily, but when nothing changed he shrugged. It would be nice to get out of this maze. "All right, let me grab it," he stated, heading up to it.

The little bug flew along obliviously as Sonic came up behind it. Hands hesitating for only a moment, he plucked the relatively small robot out of the air and pulled it towards him. It tried to fly away, still most likely trying to continue on its predetermined course, but otherwise did not put up a fight.

Until its butt started glowing.

Words could not quite describe the utter _agony_ that coursed through Sonic as he was both blinded and _shocked_ by the robot's burning lightbulb. He may have yelled, he may have tried to drop the weapon, but in the end he only truly came to on his back, feeling very much like fried hedgehog. As comprehension returned, he was pretty sure a breath of smoke came out of his lungs when his body remembered the simple task of breathing.

The lightning bug was no longer in his grasp, but Tails was staring worriedly over him. "Are you okay, Sonic?" he asked when Sonic made no move to acknowledge the fox.

"Peachy," he coughed out again.

"I think it electrocuted you, but I'm not sure," Tails admitted. "It was definitely a high heat energy of some kind, but you don't have any burns on you so that's good."

Sonic found the ability to blink next. Oh, and he could swallow, though his parched throat disagreed. A few moments later he asked, "Where is it?"

"Over there," he pointed in some random direction like Sonic could see it from his prone state. "It didn't stay lighted long, but you didn't let go when it stopped so I kicked it out of your hands. Its bulb broke so I was able to pull its data chip, but its too small for a screen so I gotta borrow the amplifier to connect it and see if it knows where we are."

Sonic blinked again, eyes distantly focusing on some heavy foliage above them. After the way this day had gone he decided to search it to make sure no more blue worm bots were waiting to add to his stress.

"Sonic?"

Satisfied that no other painful creatures lurked about, Sonic looked back at Tails questioningly.

"The amplifier?" Tails asked.

What? Oh, the map. Sonic strained to lift his wrist up high enough for Tails to undo its strap. The kit pulled it away and instantly sat down with it.

Meanwhile, the crispy blue Mobian sat up, coughing again and positive that he saw smoke come out this time. The act of coughing made him wince, nearly every one of his muscles twitching erratically from the simple movement. A slow glance over at the far wall confirmed Tails' answer to the location of the lightning bug bot.

Sonic had the insane urge to go over to its corpse and kick it out of principle.

However, the sudden loss of Chaos energy startled him enough to look at what Tails was doing instead. The vulpine had opened the back of the amplifier and had pulled some wiring out, connecting a chip to it and turning it over so he could see the screen. The data displayed was tiny and foreign to the hedgehog, but Tails seemed to understand it as he pushed or twisted a couple knobs on the outside of the amplifier to respond to the information.

The vulpine hummed, Sonic's ears twitching at the sudden sound. "What?" he prompted. His voice was raspy and dry and he fought the urge to cough again.

"The emerald is really south, and in a different direction from the way out of here. I can't keep both connected because I don't have enough wiring, so we're going to have to switch back to the amplifier and then find our way out after we get the Chaos Emerald." Tails pulled the wiring off the chip and reconnected it inside the mechanics of the gadget, causing Sonic's spines to tingle from the instant increase in magnetism that seemed to draw him to the ancient gems.

Closing up the back of the amplifier with the spare chip housed inside, Tails handed it back to Sonic. The hedgehog, however, shook his head and motioned for Tails to keep it instead.

"Don't need the screen," Sonic simply stated as he inadvertently groaned when standing again. Is this what they mean when they say kids age you?

"You feel it?" Tails asked, putting the amplifier on his own wrist. "You're really connected with the Chaos Emeralds, huh?"

"I guess so, yeah," Sonic admitted, not even sure why that was the case.

"That's good. Maybe they can fix this place, too, when you find all of them."

Sonic did raise a brow at that. "Didn't think you cared that much for West Side?"

Tails absently inspected his shoulder, shrugging slightly at Sonic's question. "I know that a lot of villages were hurt by Robotnik's badniks, which means there's lots of other Mobians that might've lost their homes. They don't deserve that." A small smile appeared as he looked back up at Sonic and added, "Besides, it's nice to know that not everyone hates my tails."

While he smiled back at the fox, it did not go unnoticed by Sonic that Tails had said 'you' and not 'we' when referring to finding the remaining Chaos Emeralds. The fox did seem more subdued and less enraged, so perhaps he had accepted that the rest of this battle should be fought by the hedgehog, alone.

Sonic had been truthful about returning for Tails, after all was said and done. He was pretty sure that he had already put the fox cub through the wringer as it was; getting him healed up after this fiasco of a day seemed like the next best course of action.

So why did he get a pang in his chest about leaving him somewhere to fend for himself?

Tails walked up to Sonic expectantly, waiting. Realizing the fox had been looking at the amplifier he now wore, the hedgehog closed his eyes and let the Chaos Emeralds guide him. There was nothing he could do, or decide, until they got the jewel and got the hell out of these caves.

As they progressed towards the emerald, past more spiky gaps, a couple worm bots, and way too many lightning bugs that Sonic avoided like the plague, they came upon a rather large tunnel. It was decorated with Chaos lanterns like the rest of them, but was much more barren in foliage. This passage had been a main thoroughfare at one point, wide enough to have perhaps housed small shops and trade for the ancient culture.

Well, whatever had been here was long gone now, except for some immortal energy lighting the way.

"I think we gotta go back," Tails spoke up. "It says the emerald is below us. Maybe we missed a tunnel?"

Sonic was inclined to agree. The pull was south, and there was definitely no south to go to, at least not in this area. He turned to Tails and stopped when the walls began shaking.

Another rumble, louder than the one before, made the duo widen their eyes at one another.

This was not an earthquake, at least not in the natural sense. This was something distant that was growing louder, directional and rhythmic, like a machine. It was coming from up above.

As such, pieces of the ceiling began crumbling, threatening to collapse on their heads. Sonic saw a rather large chunk of earth come loose above them and shoved Tails out of the way, both of them falling to the floor just as the dirt exploded in a fit of dust and rocks next to him. The rumbling was so loud now it was hard to hear anything, but as Sonic strained to listen he recognized the telltale sound of an engine, pulsing pistons and something large rotating, getting so loud it echoed in their relatively tight chamber.

Debris was falling like rain now and it was all they could do to avoid the larger chunks, retreating back the way they came. Sharp points protruded from the ceiling suddenly, breaking through with such ferocity that the machine attached to them fell through the opening from the sudden loss of resistance. Thrusters were engaged before it hit the ground, the contraption halting in its advancements and hovering in the tunnel.

Robotnik had equipped two large drills to his eggmobile, boosters attached below the heavy metal corkscrews that still turned even when idling. What was most unusual, though slightly funny, was the comical look of surprise on the doctor's face when he saw the two Mobians.

"What are YOU doing here?!" the doctor yelled, angrily adjusting his controls. "No matter, that emerald is mine!"

His heavy machine pulled downwards, drills aimed at the floor, and quickly began digging, dirt shooting upwards like a spewing fountain. The shaking was threefold now that his drilling was on the same level as the Mobians, both Sonic and Tails vibrating along the ground like they were standing on the surface of a beating drum. Sonic glared at Robotnik, quickly realizing that his machine was not equipped for battle if he was practically running away from them.

He wasted no time in speeding up to the contraption, spindashing at the head of one of the drills that was aimed away from him. His hit was solid, the mechanics holding it in place on the eggmobile wobbling unsteadily.

"At least fight fairly, hedgehog!" Robotnik growled, pulling up and flipping the drills so they aimed at Sonic. "Care to try that again?"

He pulled forward, the boosters on his machine making it much faster, even with the heavy attachments. Sonic bolted to the side, away from the drills, and turned to see the doctor heading straight towards Tails.

"NO!"

A sonic boom erupted, shaking the entire tunnel from the shockwave as the hedgehog teleported to the machine and hit the base of one of the drills again. His hit was so hard the rotator bent, forcing the drill upwards in a stuck position. Robotnik's eggmobile spun from the change in direction on only one side, so Sonic revved up and smashed into the other base of the drill, jamming it as well.

With both boosters aiming downwards and the doctor unable to correct the trajectory, he went flying up at a diagonal into the ceiling, drilling back into the dirt and away from the duo as he screamed some rather colorful words.

But even with his forced retreat the world around them did not stop shaking. The integrity of the tunnel had weakened considerably by the holes dug by Robotnik, and Sonic's shockwave most likely did not help matters. The hedgehog was forced to dive over Robotnik's hole in the ground as chunks of earth and rock pummeled to the floor with the doctor's hasty retreat. He jumped back up, readying himself to get back to Tails, when the ceiling opened up like a giant maw, the rain of debris thundering down so loud all the hedgehog could do was run the other direction.

As he threw himself to the floor, away from the collapse of the ceiling above, he turned around to see nothing but a wall where the tunnel had been.

The dirt still rained as Sonic shot back up on his feet, running up the newly-formed hill and digging at the top with his hands. "Tails!" he called. "Can you hear me? TAILS!"


	10. Mystic Caves pt 2

Note: And now for something completely (not really) different: a new POV! Also, a big thank you to all the reviews and PMs, super appreciated!

* * *

Tails fiddled with the amplifier on his wrist, checking the settings again and eyeing the hole in front of him.

After the dust had settled, the vulpine had found himself barricaded. There was now a newly formed wall in front of him, which had been made from the ceiling above. It was seamless, too, a blockade of dirt and rocks that spanned the entire width of the tunnel and prevented his way out. He could still go back the way he and Sonic had come from, of course, but the information on his wrist gadget made him hesitate. Reconnecting the lightning bug's data chip had revealed that the next best exit route was, surprisingly, the newly-made hole of Robotnik's, which now resided at the base of the cave-in.

The collapse had made short work of the hole the doctor had started digging, with the sheer weight of the earth above falling and giving the force needed to break through the ground, below. The new hole looked like it led to another series of tunnels, one of which was the way out, according to the map.

Tails popped the data chip out and reconnected the wiring to bring the amplifier back online, studying its information as it reappeared on the tiny screen.

Another path, according to it, told him the next Chaos Emerald was also down there, but in a different direction.

The fox was surprised the amplifier still worked with Sonic and the emeralds no longer in range of it. Maybe the hero was still close on the other side of the pile of dirt.

Tails hoped he was okay.

He had debated trying to dig through the new wall, to see if some section was thin enough to break through to the other side. His sensitive ears hadn't been able to pick up any noises through the mound of dirt, though, which most likely meant the collapse had been pretty big. The ceiling above the wall was still caving in, too, making it dangerous to try: if he dug too much, more dirt and heavier rocks could fall on top of him.

A rather sour thought told him that it didn't matter, anyway. If and when he found Sonic, the hedgehog was just going to leave him in the next town.

So he opted to investigate the chasm below, instead.

He would have to fly himself down, that was for certain. At this point his tails no longer cramped, but instead felt like they could no longer physically hold his body weight. Between it and his shoulder wound that throbbed whenever he moved his arm too fast, he was unsure whether he was capable of a simple task like that.

Then again, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice.

Taking another glance at his amplifier, Tails spun his namesakes and flinched from the heaviness of his muscles. He didn't give himself time to think about it, merely pulling his weight off the ground and hovering an inch or two before descending through the hole and into the level below.

His flying was erratic. He yelped when he simply could not spin his tails fast enough to keep his weight airborne, but did his best to slow his descent before it became a plunge. He hit the floor hard, rolling to try and soften the impact. The feeling of sudden freefall startled the kit, instincts kicking in and making him claw at the ground. A brief glimpse of the jagged spikes below gave him a surge of adrenaline, his hands scrambling to find grip along the edge of another hole he now dangled in.

Grasping at vines along the floor, Tails finally pulled himself back up and away from the partially hidden trap, only standing once he was several feet away from the ledge. Breathing through the dull ache of his shoulder that had been jostled during the fall, the small kit looked around to see if there was anything different about this network of tunnels.

Much like the ones before, foliage and Chaos lanterns were strewn about, with more vines dangling above, and a hidden bridge resting upright beyond the trap of spikes he had nearly fallen into. He looked back down at his amplifier, contemplating.

Going forward would most likely lead him out of the Mystic Caves. It was the same direction that they had been going in the tunnel above, before it caved in.

He could pull the lever, lower the bridge, and hope to meet Sonic somewhere on the outside, wherever these tunnels led out.

The amplifier, however, told him the Chaos Emerald was in the other direction, somewhere slightly more south and definitely the way they had come from, though on a lower level. As he studied the amplifier's information, the data on it began to fade from the screen; Tails frowned and tapped at it.

Like the reception on a television losing signal, it came back briefly, then flickered again and disappeared. It had lost range of the emerald. Sonic, still probably up above and on the other side of the cave-in, was moving away.

_Protecting you has been a burden._

Tails' eyes closed as those words echoed in his head. Sonic hadn't said the last word, but he hadn't needed to.

If he met up with Sonic now, he'd be forced to go to a doctor and would most likely be left in whatever town they found one in. And just like that, this new life would be gone.

He ignored the tightness in his throat and looked at the other path that led back into the depths of the Mystic Caves. He had to go by memory now, if he went for the Chaos Emerald. Sonic wouldn't be there to help him, or even let him know when he was in close proximity.

But if Tails retrieved the gem on his own, before Robotnik, maybe he could finally prove his usefulness to the hedgehog?

Would it even be enough?

At least he finally understood that look that he'd seen so many times from the blue hero: the angry but not-angry-at-_him_ expression was a look of protection. Sonic had a weight on his shoulders that was obvious even to Tails, and the little fox now knew it was his safety that was the brunt of it. Why the hedgehog cared for his wellbeing Tails was not sure, but as his friend he presumed it came with the territory.

After all, Tails knew what companionship and comradery should be. He'd seen it during his village watches, fascinated with how mothers cared for their small children; how friends would laugh and playfully wrestle with one another; and even how simple acquaintances would be polite with one another, smiling and offering a handshake or a pat on the shoulder.

He understood what it was and had craved it for so long. To finally experience friendship with Sonic was a dream come true because Tails wasn't alone anymore. He had met someone that liked his tails, was impressed with his inventions, and even seemed to enjoy the fox's company.

Tails was _happy_.

Every time things felt like they couldn't get better, though, something would happen that would scare the hedgehog. Even in this short time of knowing him, that look of protection had appeared so much on Sonic's face, to the point that even Tails could feel it straining their friendship.

Regret was something the kit was familiar with, but not this. This was new, and something that had been bothering Sonic since Tails had awoken in these caves. The fox had been so angry at the hedgehog's broken promise, though, that he hadn't even bothered to think through the _why _of it.

The villagers in Shoreside had regretted their associations with him. They had laughed and made fun of his love of mechanics but had also sought his help when they needed it. No one was _allowed_ to like him, so they regretted his help because it made them look bad. But Sonic ... Sonic regretted placing Tails in danger. He wanted to protect him, because he cared about him.

In the end, though, the result was frustratingly the same: Tails would be left to fend for himself alone, again.

The kit took a shaky breath, a swell of determination settling in. Maybe he just needed to be braver and faster. He needed to not get hurt. He needed to prove his worth. Maybe, just maybe, he could fix this.

The little fox made his way back into the Mystic Caves to find the Chaos Emerald.

* * *

The machine rattled off-kilter, some of the spiral teeth of the left drill bent and causing an imperfect spin. Ivo grumbled a few choice words for ugly little rodents and inputted commands into his mobile, causing the spin to increase on the right drill to compensate for the imbalance.

It had taken him hours to get the bits oriented correctly. The metal joints had been so irreparably damaged that he'd been forced to completely dissemble and reassemble the contraption at one of his nearby maintenance stations.

He had not thought to equip his retrofitted gear with offensive measures because he had not anticipated an encounter with the hedgehog. Most of the entrances to the Mystic Caves had been sealed off, and the few that did exist were on the far east side, close to the city. It would have taken even a freakishly fast hedgehog time to get out of Hill Top and circle back to find a way in.

By then, he had planned to have the cave's emerald in his possession.

Of course, the inconvenient collapse of the mountainside had apparently given the Mobian an instant shortcut into the underground caverns.

Ivo would not take chances again. He had no offensive designs for his drill, but he did have his weapon from Emerald Hill still equipped. He had rerouted the yellow Chaos Emerald's energy from his gun to his drills, as well as to his previous contraptions that had been used to try and find the remaining emeralds.

Invasive tactics were now a priority feature, however, with a spiny blue rodent running about.

Diverting some of the Chaos energy back to his weapon was easy enough, with the proper preemptive engineering. It would make his drilling slower, but he'd already torn asunder most of the network's tunnels anyways; he could navigate and reuse some of his drilled passageways to save time.

With his machine in balance again, Ivo charged southward, snaking through the tunnels relentlessly, drilling through the ground when necessary, and overall ignoring the conventional methods of spelunking. He was determined to find the Chaos Emerald first this time; he needed to.

The rodent had four, he had one, and there were two unaccounted for. He had been lucky with the yellow stone, finding it along the coast of West Side shortly after the destruction of his base on South Island. He had gone into hiding after that, opting to take the time to study the energy particles of the jewel. The plan was successful, too: over the course of the last year he had made vast scientific breakthroughs with the stone's properties and abilities.

Well, if one could classify the energy as scientific, he mused.

With better understanding of the emeralds' unique frequencies, he had learned to extend their range and track it, even with distances reaching hundreds of miles. He had also effectively applied an electrical current to the Chaos energy and create a magnetic field that attracted the emeralds to each other. Granted, it was very short-range, but the concept was there; he could expand upon it, with time. And he had been able to create an inverted frequency to the yellow stone, to mask its location. That had been extremely helpful, disallowing the annoying hedgehog from knowing he had an emerald until the doctor had decided to _let_ him know.

He even managed to invent a weapon that could target sapients with Chaos energy flowing through them. Words could never do justice to the beauty he had witnessed, as his beams twisted and curled through the atmosphere to try and tear through the hedgehog.

During testing, however, it was noted that the beams seemed to have issues close to water. He hadn't had time to troubleshoot, but something about water caused the concentrated energy to dissipate too quickly. The Chaos Emeralds were named after Chaos, their original guardian (if history books were accurate), and supposedly it was a creature of liquid energy. Perhaps some properties between water and Chaos energy were too similar, in that sense.

Regardless, it wasn't until the purple Chaos Emerald pinged on his radar that he realized a seventh stone existed. Its unique frequency from the other six was a sign from the heavens, and Dr. Ivo Robotnik never took signs for granted.

His machine rumbled and his body shook from the vibrations of the corkscrew drilling. He had already traversed south quite a bit and, looking at his screen, it appeared that the white Chaos Emerald should be just below.

He nearly clapped with excitement.

The hovercraft pushed through the ceiling, increasing in speed until Ivo slowed the thrusters to account for the lack of resistance in the air. He paused his equipment to let his ears rest from the constant grinding of the gears, taking the time to glance around the rather innocuous tunnel. Rarely did one area look different than another in this maze of passageways.

Ironically, this one happened to have an impish little fox in it, holding the jewel he was after.

The doctor tensed, searching the area carefully. Where one freakish creature was surely the other would be nearby … right?

But there were no awful quips or grating one-liners. A blue sphere of destruction did not suddenly appear and ruin his engineered designs.

Just a small mutant fox, gripping the white Chaos Emerald and backing away from the doctor with absolute fear.

Ivo smiled and said, "It seems your supposed hero has abandoned you." While speaking he turned his hovercraft to face the fox, subsequently aiming his Chaos weapon in that direction, as well.

"You can't have it!" the creature cried out, hugging the jewel tightly. With the silence around them, the impish fox's voice was quite high. Was this a Mobian child? How odd.

Ivo sighed dramatically. "I think we both know that I will be taking that emerald, fox boy."

The mutant had been taking hesitant steps backwards, but seemed to have found the courage to turn and try to run. Ivo lowered the sensitivity on his Chaos weapon and quickly fired, aiming to the right of the fox.

The burst of energy hit three feet to the right of the creature, exploding up a mixture of dirt and rock. The fox was so startled it tripped on its own two feet, falling on its back with the emerald still tightly held to its person.

He made no move to get back up, instead staring at Ivo with wide eyes.

The doctor tsked at him. "I highly recommend you don't try and escape again, unless you would like to get sliced to ribbons."

The fox shook his head disbelievingly. "But you're gonna collapse the tunnel!"

"Will it, now?" Ivo asked condescendingly. "I think you might not understand what this is, then. Chaos energy flows everywhere. In fact, it seems to flow more steadily through Mobians. Your blue friend is teeming with the stuff."

Ivo pressed a couple buttons on his computer, initiating a scan on the fox. "Based off my readings, so are you. It seems the purple Chaos Emerald has given you quite a bit of its energy ... interesting."

That explained why the hedgehog suddenly had a tagalong; he must've found the fox with the purple gem in his possession. He wondered if the creature's mutated tails were caused by being around the purple emerald's energy for too long.

After all, Chaos energy was essentially radiation. The stones' eternal elusiveness, however, made it hard to study the long-term detrimental effects of exposure to their otherworldly properties. He had theorized that the hedgehog's speed might've been from the emeralds, as well.

He made a mental note to draft some experiments on these ideas later, returning to the task at hand.

"But I digress. The best part is that I've turned that energy into a target. These beams seek out those telltale signatures of Chaos energy and merge with them because they themselves are nothing but concentrated beams of Chaos energy."

The fox had found the courage to stand back up, eyeing Ivo's weapon intently. As a precaution Ivo readjusted the sensitivity on the gun and kept his finger close to the trigger.

"So, to rebut your statement earlier, no, these beams will not go 'boom' and collapse the tunnel. Merging of two concentrated sources of Chaos energy _does_ tend to be quite the exothermic reaction, however, so if a Mobian happens to be in the middle of their reunion, well…"

Now standing, the mutant finally tore his eyes away from the weapon to look up at the doctor. "You also charged their energy, to make them magnetic to one another." There was a hint of a smirk, even through the fear, when he added, "I guess Sonic broke that though, huh?"

Ivo's eyes narrowed at the fox child, his hand absently coming up to gently brush his ginger mustache. The fox's ingenuity had not gone unnoticed by the doctor since their run-in at his casino. The pest had known how to work his hovercraft with minimal observation, using it to turn off the magnetic field and warn the hedgehog of what it was doing.

The doctor's emerald tracker he had developed was much more sensitive then the tech he had used on South Island, thanks to the yellow Chaos Emerald in his possession. Understanding the unique frequencies of the stones was supposed to have given him the added advantage.

And yet, the hedgehog still continued to thwart him, every time.

Ivo had also been notified of two security breaches within his network, once in the chemical plant and one today, from one of his Flasher badniks. When he had investigated the logs, he had determined that someone had bypassed all of his security measures with minimal decrypting.

Never had that blue spineless creature shown any ounce of intelligence that wasn't related to well-timed speed. It was not the hedgehog that had hacked into his systems, and he seriously doubted the hedgehog had invented his own emerald tracker, either. That left player three, the impish little fox, standing before him now.

"Tell me, little rodent: how did you get to be so good with machines?"

The creature, to his credit, only cocked his head suspiciously at the doctor. He kept silent.

"I'm truly curious," Ivo probed. "Granted, you're still a Mobian so your brainpower is limited, but really—I'm impressed. You've even hacked into my systems a couple times; don't think I didn't notice."

The fox still did not answer him and instead took another hesitant step backwards. This time, however, he failed to realize the trap he was near and his heel nearly slipped on its ledge. The creature threw itself forward and scrambled away before he fell down the hole, still managing to keep a tight hold on the gemstone.

Eventually the doctor sighed again, one of his elbows coming to rest on the side of his transportation. "It's a shame, really. A mind like yours could learn a lot from a mind like mine."

Eyeing Ivo once more, the fox's gaze went to the ground anxiously before declaring, "They're limited."

"Excuse me?"

"Your machines. They have limited processing for offense, mostly shooting one distance or trajectory, and even less defense unless they got a pointy body or a shield."

Ivo kept his disdain in check. "Is that so," he stated. "And how would you fix them, had you the resources?"

The fox shrunk back and did not respond.

Keeping his voice light, Ivo added, "No please, enlighten me. Let's see that brain in action."

The fox looked away, almost shyly, but eventually continued: "They would need real-time navigation, to guard large areas and give chase. Their weapons should be both close- and long-range, with articulated joints for potential close combat scenarios, and they should be able to predict enemy movements during confrontation. And when a target is identified they should be able to broadcast their coordinates to bring in backup."

Ivo rolled his eyes. The fox was obviously smart, at least in a tactical sense. The doctor's methodical mind wondered if perhaps the purple Chaos Emerald had bestowed the mutant's intelligence, as well. But while the mutant understood machines, as a child he seemed to lack the so-called _street sense_.

"In an ideal world, fox, those would be grand designs. But this is the real world, and all of that was quite a lot of hot air from someone with no means to create. Do you know how much money goes into the mass production of these machines? I have legitimate businesses, but even they can't pull the weight."

As expected, the fox looked slightly bewildered at that statement.

"Don't look so surprised, Mobian," Ivo chided. "You saw my casino. I have multiple factories in the next city as well. What, did you think I was your stereotypical bad guy in the comics with unlimited funds?" He'd always hated the black and white nature of those simplified graphic novels. "Believe it or not, I am at foremost a businessman."

_Seismic activity detected. Tunnels 4, 87, and 23 have collapsed. Risk of collapse at current location: 27%._

The monotonous female voice spoke loudly from Ivo's computer, her warning sounding much like a weather forecast for the day. The doctor glanced down at it to check the locations of the tunnels she had mentioned. His constant shortcuts through the old passageways had taken a heavy toll on the structural integrity of the Mystic Caves; it would not be long until the entire underground city crumbled.

When he returned his attention to the fox it was apparent that the creature understood the warning, as well. Time to wrap things up. "And unfortunately, my next order of business is that emerald. I'll give you ten seconds to drop it, and in return I promise that I will not kill you where you stand."

The cave-ins would take care of that for him, he mentally noted.

"Why did you have that course under the casino?"

The doctor paused at the random question, one finger still hovering over the fire button. He kept his expression unreadable when he replied, "A freak-of-nature trap. Worked quite well, don't you think?"

The mutant shook his head. "No, it wasn't a trap. It was a training course. But for what?"

The doctor did not answer. He provided the fox a malevolent grin and said, "You really are a clever one. It's too bad you have to die."

He quickly fired the weapon.

The beam was straight and true, with no obstacles between it and the two-tailed creature. In response the fox bent its head in fear, hiding itself behind the white Chaos Emerald he still held.

The concentrated energy deflected off the white jewel, sending the beam high into the ceiling of their tunnel. The force of the hit knocked the creature backwards and sent him plummeting into the hole behind him.

Dirt rained on the doctor from the small explosion, the energy quickly dissipating above him. Ivo frowned at nothing in particular, thinking through the logistics and was almost embarrassed by his conclusion. Of _course_ the yellow stone's energy wouldn't merge with the white: pure, concentrated energies from the emeralds were not the same as the multitude of frequencies flowing through living creatures.

He sighed as he brought the hovercraft forward. A quick death in spikes wasn't necessarily the worst way to go, but pulling the emerald out of the remaining mess wasn't what he'd call the highlight of his day.

_Seismic activity detected. Tunnel 96. Risk of collapse at current location: 41%._

A glance at his screen told him he was in tunnel 96; the small hit from the beam had been misconstrued as seismic vibrations, but the risk calculation was still accurate.

He activated his small grappling hook on his mobile and looked into the hole.

It was empty.

What? No impaled impish fox? No spikes?! The hole was cavernous, extending well beyond the Chaos lanterns' iridescent glow.

"No! Damnit!" he yelled, slamming his fist onto his dashboard. He quickly checked his navigation to determine where it led.

_Seismic activity detected. Tunnel 84 and 96. Risk of collapse at current location: 52%._

"Yes, yes, hold _on_," Ivo frustratingly replied to it. His map did not extend further south than here. He had mapped out the entirety of Mystic Caves via his badniks, but apparently this connection was missed as they had patrolled the system.

His hands made tight fists, enough to make his joints hurt. He'd have to come back and retrieve the Chaos Emerald later. With the steadily rising collapse risk, he couldn't go down a blind hole.

"Useless badniks," Ivo grumbled. This tunnel should _not_ have been missed. He retracted the grappling hook and accelerated forwards, mapping the exit route on his screen.

_Seismic activity detected. Tunnels 25, 56, 71, and 95 have collapsed. Risk of collapse at current location: 68%._

He found an old tunnel above him that he had previously made and took it, checking on his digital map and verifying that it led towards one of the few open exits remaining. The monotonous computer voice droned out a few more collapsed tunnels, her read-off of numbers getting longer and longer.

As he made his way up the hole he saw nothing but blue and veered left to avoid it, cursing at his luck.

"Robonik!"

Oh, the blue rodent must be angry to not use one of his teeth-grinding nicknames. Ivo looked over his small windshield to see the hedgehog standing below him with his fists clenched.

"Of course _you_ would be here," Ivo sighed.

The hedgehog was breathing heavily and glaring at the doctor, teeth visible in a snarl. Ivo reactivated his Chaos weapon, finger once again hovering over the firing button.

"I don't recommend you try anything," the doctor warned, patting the mouth of his weapon to show the hedgehog exactly what he was threatening. The blue creature's eyes only narrowed; he was ready to attack.

_Seismic activity detected. Imminent threat. Risk of collapse at current location: 76%._

The toneless words were loud alarm bells in Ivo's head. Escape was of the essence, but would be unlikely with a crazy blue ball attacking him en route. An idea formed in the doctor's head and he went for it:

"I hope you're not looking for that two-tailed rodent of yours," Ivo mentioned nonchalantly. Watching the surprise and subsequent fury on the hedgehog's expression told him all he needed to know.

"Where is he?!"

Ivo dramatically pressed a palm to his cheek in mock anguish. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, _but_…" he trailed off for a moment, enjoying the repressed rage seeping off the blue rodent, "…he's unfortunately found himself down a very, _very_ long hole."

The hedgehog yelled out, revving up and attacking with no warning. Ivo fired his weapon, watching it barely miss the blue ball of spikes before the creature rammed into his hovercraft. The right drill sputtered but thankfully did not got get jarred. Ivo, on the other hand, grabbed the edges of his transportation to steady himself as it rocked back and forth.

The blue rodent landed behind him and used his speed to snake back around.

_Seismic activity detected. Imminent threat. Risk of collapse at current location: 79%._

"Wait, I can tell you where!" Ivo called out, trying to turn his hovercraft so his weapon would be facing the freak of nature.

His proverbial white flag stopped the hedgehog in his tracks. "What did you _do_ to him," the hedgehog demanded, teeth clenched.

"I didn't do anything!" Ivo recoiled, hands on his chest and laying it on as thick as he could. "I met up with him down that hole, about three blocks back. He fell down one of those traps."

_Seismic activity detected. Imminent threat. Risk of collapse at current location: 83%._

The hedgehog's eyes had followed where Ivo had pointed, ears twitching at the constant assault of the computer system issuing its warnings. The doctor dropped his act and eyed the Mobian when he turned back to him.

"Better hurry," he deadpanned.

The hedgehog was gone in an instant, down through the hole Ivo had just come from. The doctor laughed, accelerating in the opposite direction.

Let the hedgehog search for his friend, Chaos Emeralds and all. Ivo would happily return and retrieve the gems from their buried corpses.

And should one or both survive, well ... he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.


	11. Oil Ocean

_Oil Ocean_

* * *

Sonic's body trembled, overwhelmed by shaky, rapid breaths that were useless because he wasn't even tired. Occasionally a tight whine would escape between those breaths, unintelligible and also useless, but there nonetheless. He was on his hands and knees, doing his best to regain his composure.

He didn't know what to do.

In a flurry of speed he had searched where Robotnik had told him to, searched the area and well beyond, even as the ceiling began to rain earth on him and the collapse was underway. His speed was detrimental to the already broken paths, but he pushed harder to go as far back as he could.

He had called out repeatedly, checking _everywhere_.

The rain became a thunder of dirt and he had to leave if he didn't want to be buried within its grasp. And yet he continued to comb the remaining tunnels, desperate and angry and panicked.

The traps had been empty. Robotnik's words about a 'long hole' were useless; what was a long hole? All the traps he had found were full of spikes, and all were empty. With his speed he had checked all of them, probably twice or more.

No, it didn't make sense. He had to be lying.

The thunder of earth had turned into hail and he was finally forced to escape. He pushed through the onslaught, his speed his only savior. He held his breath when he could no longer see in front of him, letting his feet guide him back to the surface.

It seemed ironic now, to realize how reckless he had been. He had put himself in immediate danger, waiting until the caves were actively collapsing before escaping, and yet he still didn't care.

He had failed.

Utterly, completely failed.

His hands pulled up the soil in contempt, making fists and squeezing the excess out the sides of his palms. Eventually his legs found the strength to pull himself into a standing position, hands still tightened and choking the clumps of dirt with unreserved spite.

_Robotnik._

This was not over. He had lied to Sonic, he had to have. Either way, he would find out.

He ran, faster than he had in a while, unhindered by underground tunnels and upright bridges. _And tagalongs_, a sinister voice in his head added. He shut it out and focused on the environment ahead.

No matter what he was facing, the sheer exhilaration of speed and simply being _free_ helped him clear his mind. It was his catharsis and always would be.

He was still on Hill Top, but closer to the base of the volcanic belt, along the southeastern border. The ground sloped downwards, inviting more speed as the hedgehog flew along the barren ground effortlessly. It seemed like the Mystic Caves had traversed both next to and under the mountainous region, a spiderweb of passages aided by the lava that most likely flowed there at one time.

_Failure._

He stumbled, and at the speed he was traveling it was destructive, the ground spitting up a heavy chunk of soil from his misstep. The accusation echoed in his head, threatening to make an exception to his only form of peace. Doing his best to push it away, Sonic returned his sights ahead. The pathway he sped through was steadily turning into woodlands, most likely the Mystic Forest. It continued on until meadowlands took its place, and ahead of him loomed a huge refinery, three times the size of the chemical plant and massive plumes of smoke leaking out of its various pipes.

A shoreline lay just to the right of Sonic, telling him he had finally made it to the east end of West Side Island.

His running slowed, though, as he took a glance at the ocean to his right. Instead of the clear blue he had expected, its color had been tarnished by deep, viscous black. Oil had leaked out of the refinery at alarming levels, contaminating the waters nearby to make it appear like an ocean of oil.

_Weak._

Sonic's expression soured at his subconscious, as well as the smell and appearance of the waters. Even the chemical plant had contained its waste better than this. Intuition told him this was Robotnik's doing, and the hedgehog kept that thought afloat, fueling his fury at the madman even more.

He had lost the amplifying energy of Tails' invention long ago, but with four emeralds in his possession he was getting better at detecting the remaining three. Robotnik had managed to find a way to mask his, but he would overpower it. He was determined to.

There was no detection of an emerald nearby, though. He needed to get closer to the city, and that same gut instinct told him the refinery was the best place to search. Robotnik definitely had something to do with it.

_Useless._

"ENOUGH!" Sonic cried out in frustration, hands on his head in an attempt to stop the accusatory words. He was already wracked with guilt, but these words came from further beneath … from a dark recess of subconsciousness, fueled by an unknown power.

He growled out loud, if only to remind himself that it was all in his head. Tails was _not_ gone. Something either in himself or in the Chaos Emeralds told him as much, and at this point he was grasping at straws to keep sane with that singular thought.

Feet took motion before he even told them to, ramping up and heading into the refinery. A gate bordered the entrance, tall and apparently locked, but with Sonic's velocity he simply jumped it.

Smoothly landing and slowing, he found himself on grated floor, obnoxiously purple in color. Along the borders of the grated paths were gold and green reservoirs, most likely housing vats of the oil that seemed to have infiltrated the entire area. Sonic found his speed again, pushing through the entrance, across a long pier, and into the first structure.

He looked around, noticing that he had entered a tall building under construction. It lacked solid walls but was composed of steel framework, along with a roof above. A button caught his eye on one of the bare columns and he pressed it, instantly feeling the floor beneath him rise like an elevator.

_You abandoned him._

The voice was so _loud_ in his head. He gritted his teeth but kept his focus on the new level he was approaching. As soon as a hole cleared he barreled through, along more purple-grated railings and giant reservoirs. Pumps were in motion nearby, churning heavily and providing a continual machine hum that became white noise to the area.

Up ahead a robot patrolled, hovering inches above the ground and shaped like an octopus.

Sonic stopped and watched as it reacted to his presence, spewing yellow fireballs out with abandon. He eluded them easily, his eyes narrowing as he calculated his timing before attacking. Leaping up into a spindash, he hit his target in the center as it tried to hover higher to deflect his attack.

The metal buckled and shredded as he landed on the other side, the hedgehog's expression a perpetual scowl even as he glanced back to ensure its demise. Satisfied, he turned back around to proceed onwards and found a yellow fireball a foot away from his face.

"Whoa!"

He slid on his back to avoid it, quickly regaining his footing to find its source. Another _five_ octopus bots lined up along the railing, triggered by his presence and firing away.

Robotnik had either upped his production line, or this refinery had been under his control for some time.

The speedy hedgehog made scrap metal out of the octopus guards. They were similar to the bots in the chemical plant since they seemed unable to give chase, but they did manage to hover in place and shoot farther distances.

_A pathetic hero._

"Would you _stop_ it already?!"

Sonic's irritation increased his momentum and he sped through to a long bridge overlooking multiple boilers, each with an exhaust vent on its top. Further ahead was a tall pipe and a ladder starting about halfway up.

He ran over and glanced up at it, realizing quickly that he could not reach it from this height. A control box at his level probably lowered the ladder, but it appeared to be password-protected. He fiddled with it briefly, earning a red light each time he typed something in and flipped the switch.

He had no idea how to make it work.

Pushing out the intrusive thought of a certain two-tailed fox who _would_ know how to hack the system, Sonic turned back around to find another way. He startled, however, when he realized his path was blocked by a seahorse dead set on confrontation.

"It's not nice to sneak up on hedgehogs, y'know."

The robot did not respond. It hovered in front of him, nearly twice as tall as him and eyes huge against its lithe body, staring unblinkingly at the hedgehog. A small alarm blared through its speakers and it shot something black out of its horn-shaped nose.

He effortlessly dodged the projectile, bouncing along the bridge and smashing into the robot with precision. It fell to the railing with a heavy clang, sparks flying from the collision. Sonic looked back to see that the bot had fired some sort of black sludge at him, which now covered the base of one of the boiler's exhaust vents.

"Heh, clean-up in aisle three, amiright—?" Sonic's banter died off quickly, though, when he realized there was no one around to hear it.

_You're the reason he's not here._

His teeth clenched again in agitation but he ignored the internal commentary. A sudden onslaught of more black sludge distracted him, landing on the boilers and exhaust vents as it missed the hedgehog. Sonic quickly looked back around to find four more seahorses floating in from high above, shooting their horned-nose guns relentlessly.

Evading the oil glops was easy enough, but with four shooting at once Sonic found himself in a sludge shower. The smell was acrid and smoky, and one lucky shot grazed his leg enough for Sonic to realize that this was _burning_ oil that they were shooting.

He hissed and quickly brushed off the remnants that had stuck on his fur, putting extra incentive into his dodges. The seahorses were being uncharacteristically smart, hovering high in the air and away from Sonic's spindash zone.

The sound of crackling filled his ears and he briefly glanced behind him, catching a flash of green flame along the boiler vents. The hot oil had caught aflame, and by proxy the chemical exhaust from the boiler had also begun to burn an unnatural green.

_pop!_

The top on one of the exhausts flew straight up, the heat of the flames too much for it to contain. The lid flew straight and true, high into the air before landing with a heavy clank somewhere on another boiler.

Sonic ran towards another exhaust vent, jumping the guardrail with ease. This was probably a stupid idea.

More ultra-hot oil was shot at him, however, and told him that the idea wasn't stupid if it worked.

He saw one exhaust lid rumbling and landed on it in a crouch. With a _pop!_ it went flying, hedgehog in-tow.

"Yee-haw!"

He jumped off the lid in midair, spinning into the nearest seahorse. As he ricocheted off it he aimed for the next one, keeping a pattern to his attacks that sent all four robots smashing to the floor.

After the last one, Sonic jumped back towards the bridge, ran, and clambered up another exhaust top just as it exploded upwards. This time he stayed put, though, getting high enough in the air to reach the ladder attached to the tall pipe.

He latched onto one of the rungs just as gravity started to take its toll on the exhaust top, dangling on the end of the ladder as he separated from the green metal lid and it fell back to the ground. Taking a peek back, Sonic saluted the defunct robots sparking along the bridge before climbing up the side of the tower.

The pipe he had scaled was one of the tallest in the refinery, giving Sonic a great view of the area. The black ooze of the oil water surrounded the eastern border of the factory, but further out it dissipated and the normal pristine blue of the ocean waves rolled rhythmically. Along the north—beyond the gates—was a city, its artificial lighting visible in the late afternoon hours.

_You left him to die_.

"No!" he spit out defiantly. "He's not dead," he assured himself, though his tone had wavered considerably.

A darkening sensation filled his veins, triggered by guilt, anger, and sheer _hatred_. It felt like a shadow had descended on his very being.

He took a deep breath and concentrated, pushing the feeling away. Focus.

Another metal bridge jutted out beyond the pipe and led towards the upper level of a building. Sonic ran towards it, his eyes keeping a steady watch in the air for more floating seahorses holding a grudge.

Inside was a manufacturing plant, conveyor belts and robotic arms mechanically moving about. Barrels and barrels and _barrels_ of oil permeated the giant room, the robotic arms filling them, sealing them, and transferring them to the conveyor belts moving along the center.

Near the roof of the building, which Sonic was close to, more seahorses patrolled. His entry into the structure triggered them immediately and an alarm started blaring from their speakers again, black sludge flying his way.

"Not again," he groaned, running forward and down into the assembly line. He jumped onto a robotic arm, barely maintaining his grip, before jumping on the container it was holding.

Hot oil from the seahorses hit the lid of the barrel and splattered, its droplets sizzling as they landed on Sonic's face.

"ARGH!" he hollered out in pain, quickly hopping off the barrel. He landed roughly on the conveyor belt, rolling as a robotic arm dropped a metal vat where he'd been seconds prior.

More sludge slammed onto the belt as the seahorses gave chase, forcing Sonic to dodge around it, as well as the countless drums in his way. There wasn't a lot of running room in this area and, like the other robots, these seahorses were being damn smart in keeping their distance.

Near the end of the conveyor belt the barrels were lined up one-by-one and dropped into a chute, disappearing from sight. Sonic couldn't see where the tube led, but at this point he'd take his chances over more hot oil in his face.

"Thanks for the facial, creeps, but I gotta juice!"

He cut through the line of barrels and knocked one over, taking its place on the belt. The container in front of him fell into a shallow pipe below, which triggered the mouth to rotate, and with a _fwump_ the barrel was shot out of the building.

"Aw cr—!"

Sonic's exclamation, as well as his entire body, fell off the end of the motorized belt and into what was more aptly described as a cannon, which had already rotated back and accepted its Mobian projectile.

Immediately after landing in it, the mouth of the cannon pivoted. An escape attempt could not be performed before a sudden blast of super hot air propelled him along the same path as the barrel before him.

"AAAAHHH!"

The blue ball of hedgehog flew right out of the building, but instead of veering downwards, Sonic found himself landing in yet another cannon, which also pivoted as soon as he landed inside.

Another _fwump_ later and he was airborne again, this time heading straight up. His protective quills were the only thing saving him from a multitude of broken bones at this point, so Sonic stayed rolled up, wondering not for the first time why he had been genetically cursed with hare-brained ideas _and_ impulsivity.

He involuntarily followed along the path, landing in five more strategically placed cannons, before being unceremoniously deposited on another conveyor belt. He had managed to land on his feet, at least, barely seeing the floor and bouncing once in his curled position before straightening. The barrel that went before him was now in front of him along the new assembly line, and a clang behind him told him the barrel that went _after_ him just landed.

Sonic was outside now, though where in the facility was beyond him. He'd been completely turned around by the chute-less traveling. Honestly, if this was Robotnik's factory, he had more than enough metal to make an actual tube to transport the vats of oil; was shooting them around like a cannon ball really necessary?

Considering Robotnik's tendencies, that was probably a dumb question.

The hedgehog saw a railing to the side and jumped, relief flooding over him as he felt the solid ground beneath his feet.

_He trusted you._

Each time the dark critique spoke, it felt like a vice grip tightening on his lungs. The words were heavy and piercing, cutting him to his core and leaving him raw. He did his best to pretend that he didn't hear them, anymore, but his actions fumbled every time. He felt like he was going crazy with how disjointed the thoughts had become.

It was like another _entity_ had resided in his mind.

He returned to the task at hand. The pathway he was on led downwards via a set of stairs, along with a few more octopus robots, but Sonic easily sped through them and their yellow energy balls. At least _they_ didn't hover out of range.

The stairs turned into another bridge, and along the other side was a cluster of pipes and conduits, some large and wide and others small and skinny. All were cycling something through them, though, as they loudly hummed with the sound of mechanical pumping.

He ran around the large structures, following the grated railing, and found Robotnik.

He was up two levels, along the path of another bridge, and standing next to his eggmobile. The hovercar was being held in place with large metal clasps, with the doctor standing next to it and typing away at a dashboard of switches and buttons. Robotic arms were moving about, attaching some metal covering over the outside surface of the madman's notorious transportation.

_Rage will give you power._

"_ROBOTNIK!_" Sonic roared, the fury from earlier resurging at a frightening rate. He looked around and tried to find a ladder to get up to him.

The doctor jumped at the yell, looking over the railing and frowning at the hedgehog. "Figures you would survive that collapse," he mumbled loud enough for Sonic to hear.

"Where's Tails?!"

"How should I know? I told you, he fell into some hole."

Sonic sped around the pipes and found a ladder, but it was high up and out of reach. "LIAR!" he screamed back, the hatred seeping further into his veins and clouding all other thought processes.

An inkling of fear probed through Sonic, as well—between the throes of rage—and the hedgehog felt the Chaos Emeralds warning him.

"Honestly, Sonic, if I _knew_ where he was I'd have used it to my advantage already." Robotnik was steadily typing at his controls while he spoke, obviously hurrying up with whatever work he was doing on his mobile. "Now, unless you'd like to be generous with your emeralds, I have some work to complete."

Hatred fueling his essence, Sonic honed in on the feeling and used it to channel the emeralds in his possession. The wavelength was the same as before, and yet with his emotions it was somehow stronger and _twisted_ as it infused with him. He ignored the warning calls from the emeralds and focused on that new strength, the wave of power motivating his revenge even more.

"You're trying to hide your emerald, but I feel it," Sonic stated, eyes closed but opening after he spoke. He stared up at the doctor, watching calmly as the man hastily made his way back into his eggmobile. "You still only have one, but I can call it."

The yellow Chaos Emerald hummed in his ears, even though it was being masked by some kind of device of Robotnik's. The doctor seemed to recognize Sonic's connection with it, though, his hands flying along the controls of his mobile to try and stop the pull the hedgehog had on the stone.

_Let it consume you_.

The hedgehog's focus was unwavering as he mentally called to the yellow jewel, summoning it to him. With a sickening crunch of metal, Sonic felt the device masking the jewel crumple like an empty soda can. The yellow Chaos energy soared without resistance, uniting with the other energies. The stone was stuck within the ruined contraption, but Sonic pulled at it, and with slow creaks the metal surrounding the Chaos Emerald began bending away.

Robotnik glanced back down at Sonic, an undeniable look of fear forming on the madman's face. He released the clasps holding his mobile in place and was now hovering above the hedgehog.

Despite his expression, Robotnik's voice was even when he said, "If you're so good at calling the emeralds, hedgehog, perhaps you should have done that when searching for your little mutant."

Sonic's connection shattered, the yellow Chaos Emerald's hum dying away. Tails had an emerald?

"And I suggest you channel your emotions elsewhere. Dark Chaos energy is very unbecoming of you."

Robotnik sped away in his eggmobile, Sonic too stunned to move and give chase. What did he mean by dark Chaos energy?

As his mind cleared, the warning call of the stones came blaring back into his head. He looked around him and saw dark _smoke_ dissipating. Where had that come from?

A thick dread settled in him, his mind reeling from the loss of control. He had been so _angry_, a raw emotion that had been continuously gnawed at by a voice telling him it was his fault.

His hands had been fisted at his sides, but now trembled as he relaxed his grip. Had … had he channeled dark Chaos energy?

The loud warning call in his head was slowly waning as his rage calmed, but the fear that took residence in its place told him that was _exactly_ what he had done.

He had ignored the signs and the warnings and had let his guilt and wrath take over everything. The horror of using the emeralds in the very way he had sworn to protect them from was one thing, but Sonic was more disturbed by how _easy_ it had been to do so.

Robotnik's earlier statement came to the forefront of his mind again. If Tails had an emerald in his possession, Sonic could try and use that to help find him. He tried to reach out to the emeralds again, his emotions in check, but found himself cut off.

He tried again, desperation seeping through, but the stones did not respond.

They were afraid of him.

"I'm sorry," he said aloud, head hanging low. "I … _please_, if he's alive I have to find him."

A small surge of irritation forced its way back at the Chaos Emeralds' stubborn silence to his plea, but Sonic pushed it away quickly. As much as he wanted to find Tails, he would _not_ do it with dark energy. He would regain the emeralds' trust, one way or another.

His mind went back to his encounter with Robotnik. The doctor had not anticipated that Sonic would live through the cave collapse and had been prepping his eggmobile for something else; what, though?

The metal he had seen being encased on it was similar to the thick metal the doctor had used to submerge his mobile in the lava pits, though it didn't appear as thick as that one had. Whatever it was had been built for defense, not offense.

He needed another look. While there was no way up, the railing rounded the pipe towers and continued on across the factory. Sonic sped through and down, the bridge transforming into stairs that ended up along another barrel pitstop. Looking up he could see the containers depositing on a conveyor belt above him and moving out of sight.

Following along the parallel railing to see where it led, he abruptly came to a stop, finally having reached the end of the refinery. Looking straight ahead and down showed the black water along the premises, with the cleaner ocean waters much farther beyond. The conveyor belt above Sonic, however, curved in a different direction.

He used the handrail as a stepladder to jump on top of it, standing next to the long line of oil drums slowly making their way across. As the belt curved it suddenly veered at a downwards angle, causing the barrels to tip and roll.

"Gah!"

Rolling barrels pummeled over one another on the sharp decline, Sonic jumping up and trying his best to not get crushed by the metal cylinders. Up ahead the motorized walkway flattened out, allowing the oil casks to slow to a stop as they bottlenecked at the junction.

Sonic was haphazardly draped over one of the cylinders, reorienting himself from his acrobatic acts to stay on top of the heavy drums. He glanced up just as he and his barrel passed through a shimmering field, which happened to be scanning all the toppled barrels as the belt continued to move forward slowly.

A robotic ram was pulled taut to his left, but suddenly jutted out, punching one of the barrels in front of him and forcing it off the conveyor belt with a solid whack. Sonic watched it fall, looked back up, and saw the ram pull itself taut again.

"Oh no no no—"

It was a belated thought, but Sonic realized the scanner was checking the quality of the barrels. Those that didn't pass got knocked out of the assembly line.

Scanning a hedgehog on top of a barrel seemed to make it not pass quality control. Go figure.

With another whack and a strangled yelp, Sonic and his barrel flew off the conveyor belt. He kept a tight hold on the oil cask as its heavy weight toppled down, but thankfully his fall was short-lived. The barrel had landed on another belt below, teetering close to the edge before Sonic shifted his weight and saved both of them from certain doom.

"Whew," he breathed out loud, slowly pulling himself off the barrel and standing on the belt. "That was—ew!" Sonic looked down and saw that he had stepped in thick oil, which nearly covered the motorized walkway. "Gross! Why would—?"

Sonic didn't get to finish his question. Thick spikes, sheathing the belt he stood on, came flying towards him and his barrel. He barely managed to jump out of the way just as the spikes shoved the barrel into the wall, smashing the metal cylinder and sending its contained oil spewing out like black geysers.

The majority of the sludge fell with Sonic towards a wide slide, which appeared to be nothing but a spillway for rejected petroleum. He landed in the smelly, thick goop, somehow managing to stay atop its dense texture.

The spillway abruptly ended half a block later, dropped onto another spillway going the other direction, and eventually shoveled Sonic and the excess oil into the ocean.

His instinct was to panic, but the heavy liquid made it almost like weak quicksand, allowing the hedgehog to partially spindash to stay atop it. Another purple platform was nearby, along the base of the oil ocean, so Sonic jumped and rolled his way over there. With a final quick spin in place, he was able to clear most of the thick stuff off of him, though he and his accessories had been stained a lovely overlay of black.

Just as he landed, a gleam of silver caught his eye. Sonic peered into the black waters to see the top of Robotnik's mobile skimming the surface and moving away from him.

"_Robotnik!_" Sonic yelled, cruising along the grated walkway and leaping over waves of thick residue. "Get back here, you _coward_!"

With a flip and a quick spin, Sonic sawed into the side of Robotnik's mobile-turned-submarine, denting the thick metal he had seen the doctor install earlier. With the heavy roof now closed, Sonic could see the doctor yelling at the hedgehog but could not hear him. He quickly leapt back onto the nearby platform, prepping for his next attack. Robotnik's mobile bobbed in the waves, still functional but barely visible in the viscous liquid.

There was an electronic pop, followed by some crackling, before Sonic heard Robotnik's voice through a speaker: "Shame to see you've returned to your normal annoying self, rodent."

"Well, everyone has their off-days," Sonic effortlessly quipped back, pushing down the anger that had started boiling again. His hands came to his waist as he looked around. "Really, Eggman, you should start caring about the environment more."

"The only environment I care about, hedgehog, is the one where _I_ am in possession of all the Chaos Emeralds!"

"Tough luck on that, Eggy," Sonic replied and shrugged. "But I'll be happy to take that yellow emerald off your hands!"

"Why, so you can channel more of that dark energy? Tell me, Sonic, just how _easy_ was it, hmm? It seemed so effortless for you."

Sonic's teeth clenched as he released a shaky breath, but he outwardly appeared unfazed as he watched the doctor. "What dark energy?" he asked innocently. "I didn't see any dark energy."

"Of course," Robotnik commented. "No matter. In due time I _will_ have all the emeralds, and we'll just see how powerful that dark Chaos energy is."

"Yeah, you've done a bang-up job of getting them so far!" Sonic berated. He held up a hand and started counting with his fingers. "What's the tally, now? Robotnik zero, Sonic … five?"

As Sonic watched Robotnik through the thick windshield, a cruel smile played across the madman's face. "You're absolutely right, Sonic. Best-laid plans often go awry, do they not?"

Something about the smile put Sonic's nerves on edge, but he kept his own cool grin plastered on as a mask.

"I do really have some work to complete, though, so please excuse my absence. Oh, and here—let me clean up my _mess_."

Robotnik's retrofitted mobile sank beneath the murky waters, even as Sonic hollered out and attempted to attack once more. The doctor had been too fast, however, and Sonic hit nothing but the oil when he landed, forcing him to jump back before sinking within its depths.

He landed back on the purple platform and threw himself to the floor when a spearheaded bot flew over his head. It was silent as it dived back under the ocean, simplified in design and lacking the animalistic properties of Robotnik's usual badniks.

The hedgehog stood up and spun to get rid of the excess oil clinging to his fur. He noticed bubbling near where Robotnik's makeshift submarine had been, moving away and out into the ocean.

He was heading northeast, beyond West Side Island.

The speedster jumped to another platform, trying to move farther out from the refinery, but ended up at a dead end as he watched the doctor get away.

His hands tightened into fists, but he took a deep breath and let the fury subside. He turned around to head back, but found another robot pulling up out of the ocean, this time with a gun for a head.

It fired a blue beam at Sonic, aimed high. He ducked to avoid it and saw the robot dip back into the ocean, firing more blue beams as it sank.

He scrambled up and jumped over the second and third blasts of energy. The third one, however, skimmed along the purple grating of his platform and exploded in flames.

Sonic sped and jumped back to the other platform, barely avoiding the bright blue fire of the burning oil. He skidded on the railing but stopped in time, turning back around to see the spearheaded robot make another pass.

Staying here was going to get him nowhere, not with Robotnik escaping out to sea. The hedgehog dodged the robot and hopped back along the dry platforms, making his way into the refinery again.

He heard the shots of the laser bot before he saw it, the blue blast of energy nearly kissing his face before he ducked. One lucky shot bounced off the frame of the spillway he had come from, ricocheting and bursting into the sea of oil.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding—"

A sonic boom erupted as the speedy hedgehog flew through the resounding explosion, orange and blue flames alike spreading across the contaminated waters. The hedgehog used every ounce of coordination to fly through the metal pathways, around the pipe towers, and through the factories of assembly lines, avoiding the badniks that seemed oblivious to the explosions spreading across their patrol zone.

He reached the border and jumped the fence, skidding along the dirt floor and putting some distance between him and the burning refinery. Sonic turned around at the top of a hill, watching as one of those tall skinny towers collapsed, more blasts sending a shockwave through the air and rumbling the ground.

"Hope 'buttnik has insurance," Sonic grimaced, feeling the heat of the oil fire even at this distance. Remembering the doctor's escape route, Sonic's eyes narrowed as he stared off towards the eastern horizon.

Whatever was out there was unreachable on foot. Sonic took a deep breath, watching the destruction of the oil refinery for a few more moments before zooming westward, back to the Tornado.

* * *

Note: I know Sonic X did the dark energy thing with fake emeralds, so this may be slightly AU? I'm not sure. I have no idea what is canon these days. Fun fact: this and the next chapter were drafted before, like, most of the rest of the story. I have odd writing habits.


	12. Metropolis

_Metropolis_

* * *

The plane had barely managed to land on the coast, or more notably, what actual coast there was. There had been enough room to either touch down in the incoming tide or crash into a wall, so Sonic opted for the former. The aircraft's wheels splashed along the makeshift runway, somehow holding steady despite the quicksand effect of the waterlogged sand. When he finally slowed to a stop, he had expected a welcome party—robots, particularly—but no one showed. As Sonic left the plane perched within the shallow waves, he looked directly up at the looming buildings before him, their interiors humming and grinding with their mechanical melodies.

He was on a lonely isle, a few miles northeast of West Side Island. The land itself was completely overtaken by an industrial complex, with the factory's corners jutting so far out that the waves sloshed against them. It looked as if everything had been built out horizontally first, and then constructed upwards when there had been no more land to utilize. The hedgehog had to crane his neck completely back to see the outline of the structure tops against the indigo sky.

It was well into the night, the surrounding waters looking as black as the oil ocean had been along the coast of the refinery. The stars in the sky were the only light source available, at least on the outside: Robotnik had made sure to keep his mini empire off the grid as best as possible.

Sonic wasn't even sure he could classify it as that. It looked like multiple buildings interconnected when he'd been in the Tornado looking down, but upon closer inspection it was like something had been built along the tops of the towers as an afterthought.

Whatever it was, it was huge. It was possible that this was Robotnik's new base, his main facility to mass-produce the robots that had been inundating the main island.

It was also the most likely retreat Robotnik had escaped to, though the hedgehog had no sure way of knowing. The dark energy he had used, albeit briefly, had been the only thing that had made him strong enough to hone in on Robotnik's yellow Chaos Emerald. It had simultaneously given him the power to break whatever device the doctor had been using to mask its energy, which, _theoretically_, should have made detecting the yellow emerald easy, now.

But, despite freeing the emerald, Sonic's tirade into darkness had caused the Chaos Emeralds to shut him out completely. He was blind to their energies, even the ones in his possession. They were afraid of his lapse of control, and—truth be told—Sonic was, too.

There was an undeniable ease to the power and the strength he had obtained from letting his hate mix with the emeralds, which Sonic had latched onto easily. Too easily. And yet the energy itself was somehow … wrong. It had a heavy weight to it that made you feel sick; corrupted, even. It had been hours after the event and he was still having a hard time shaking the feeling. He had no idea how to make it up to the emeralds or have them essentially forgive him, even though a small part of him also realized how ludicrous that sounded. How or why jewels decided to _not_ let him feel their presence was probably high up on the cuckoo meter, after all.

But without the emeralds' energy guiding him, without a kid fox educating him about the tiny island off the coast of his homeland, and without even a couple robots trying to stop his progress, Sonic felt the unparalleled sensation of being alone.

And for the first time in his life—as far back as he cared to remember, anyways—he hated it.

He missed Tails.

His mind would go to dark places each time he thought of the lost fox, however, and he had to shake the memories away before the anger and guilt resurfaced.

Time to find a way in.

* * *

"Almost … almost…"

Tails was carefully screwing in a circuit board to his amplifier, his tongue sticking slightly out of his mouth in earnest concentration.

A large crab robot was next to him, pacing. Something must've picked up on its radar, however, because it instantly started crawling to the edge of the long platform they were on. Tails, successfully having installed the new circuit board, watched the crab's actions carefully as he finished connecting wires and closed the casing back up.

A familiar sound of revving reached the fox's ears, causing them to shoot straight up in excitement. He pushed away from the workbench and ran towards the crab bot and the ledge.

The bot turned back around, realizing that the threat did not classify as mechanical. However, a blue blur came barreling up past the edge of the platform at that moment, ramming into the robot so hard it instantly crumpled. Tails grimaced.

"Take that, you stupid wannabe boxer!" Sonic yelled out at it, jumping up again to smash into it more.

"Sonic!" Tails admonished. "He'd been reprogrammed," he sulkily explained.

The hedgehog hopped back, obviously startled by the Mobian voice. His eyes widened at seeing the kit. "TAILS!"

The fox was scooped up into a tight hug so fast the breath was knocked out of him. He barely had time to blink before Sonic pulled him back to take a look at him.

"Oh Chaos, am I glad to see you! You're okay! Wait, are you okay? Are you hurt? What _happened_? I looked everywhere for you. How did you wind up here?!" Sonic's nonstop ambush of questions only stopped momentarily when he glanced back at the workbench. "…And what are you doing?"

Tails wasn't quite sure where to start, but a look at his now-defunct robot spurred his next words: "Why were you so mad at my bot?"

Sonic paused, glancing back at the ruined metallic creature. "What do you mean, 'your' bot?"

"I reprogrammed him to attack anything mechanical," Tails clarified, sighing. "He was protecting me from all the other mantis and crab bots, and could even stop those pointy spears from the starfish bots in the walls."

The hedgehog cocked his head at the machine before giving the fox an apologetic look. "Sorry, buddy, didn't realize he was a good guy. I got knocked back by about four other crabs earlier, so I was on a warpath, I guess." He turned back around and kneeled, grasping Tails' shoulders. "Now tell me what happened."

The fox involuntarily flinched from the grab. Sonic frowned but looked at his hands, quickly realizing he had accidentally put pressure on Tails' shoulder wound that he had gotten in the Mystic Caves. He instantly released his grip and cringed. "Sorry bud, I forgot."

"It's okay," Tails said and shrugged. He took a deep breath, reciting Sonic's questions in his head before answering them one by one: "I'm okay. My shoulder is still hurt, but I think the emerald helped my tails. I found it in the caves but then Eggman found me and shot his Chaos beam at me, which made me fall into a hole. I tried to fly, but they hurt real bad, and then I think the emerald did something to help me fly and stop falling.

"I landed in this really big cave system of minerals and crystals. It was super pretty and large. Sound travelled really far in there because everything echoed, so I kept following the noise and found bots mining the mineral. I think it's the alloy Eggman uses for his badniks.

"He had service elevators and chutes to the surface, so I took one and found myself here. That was when I found this maintenance station. I think Eggman has a lot of them around, which also explains how he's so fast at fixing his eggmobile. But I was able to find some tools here to reprogram that crab bot to protect me." Tails took another deep breath, glancing at the amplifier on his wrist. "Oh, and I upgraded the amplifier but need to test it out."

He blinked and looked back up at Sonic. The hero's eyes were wide as he stared at the fox, still kneeling on one leg in front of Tails and his arms now resting on his bent knee. "I … you…" he paused. "Wow," he finally finished.

The fox also paused, watching the hedgehog's expression carefully. "Are you … are you going to take me back home?"

There was a long silence, but not from hesitation. Sonic gave the kit a warm smile and shook his head. "No way, Tails. I need my sidekick."

Tails' eyes lit up at the last word. "Really?"

"You bet, kiddo. I owe you a big apology, too." The hedgehog stood up then, one of his hands coming to rest on Tails' uninjured shoulder. "What I said back in the caves … I was wrong. I _couldn't_ have done this without you."

He gave Tails' shoulder a strong squeeze, his eyes holding more emotion than he'd ever seen from the hero. "I thought I was protecting you, but you had my back, too. Without you, the Tornado would still be on that beach and I'd probably be fried by lasers."

"Chaos beam," Tails corrected in a whisper.

Sonic let out a breathy laugh. "Chaos beam," he repeated. "You are crazy smart—as smart as that egghead, if not more, for sure—and have used it against him more times than I can count." The hedgehog glanced back at the crab robot wreckage. "I mean, come on, you made one his bots into your own personal bodyguard." He smirked and returned his focus to Tails.

"I felt totally lost when we got separated, and—well—it made me realize that you and me, we're not just a team. We were born for this. I keep worrying about keeping you safe, about this stupid war with Robotnik and how I'm dragging you into danger, and … the reality is, you got this. You're a flippin' amazing five-year-old that's—"

"Six."

The hedgehog lost his flow with Tails' interruption. He arched a brow at the fox. "Huh?"

Tails shrugged again, though more shyly this time. "I saw the calendar in the hotel. I turned six the day after I met you."

"What? And you didn't _tell_ me?!"

The kit blinked, confused. "Should I have?"

Sonic sighed. "We will get back to this topic later. Point is, keed, you're an amazing _six_-year-old that's kept me in line, saved my hide more than once, and has reminded me what friendship is. You have singlehandedly made this the best adventure I've ever had, hands down." His head tilted to make sure Tails kept eye contact before continuing with, "I'm sorry—_super_ sorry—that I didn't see that until now. And you and me, we're gonna finish this adventure together."

Tails felt a smile beam across his face. "You mean it?" he asked excitedly.

"Honest to Chaos, Tails."

The kit lunged himself at Sonic, wrapping his arms around the hedgehog's waist and realizing—for the first time—what it felt like to _really_ hug somebody. The hero returned the embrace tightly, his head resting on top of Tails' own. The combined sensation of strong arms, warm fur, and the rhythmic thumping of a heartbeat against Tails' ear, which was pressed against the hedgehog's chest, sent an overwhelming comfort through the fox that made him feel … _safe._

He truly understood what it meant to be _cared for_ by someone.

"Thank you, Sonic," he mumbled from within the hug, "for everything."

Sonic gave an extra hard squeeze before pulling Tails back to ruffle the top of his head. "Yeah yeah, all right sidekick, we still got an Eggman to stop and some emeralds to find!"

"Oh, I forgot!" Tails ran over to his defunct crab robot, opening its main compartment with only a slight amount of struggling, since its casing had been bent in multiple places. He pulled out not one, but two Chaos Emeralds: the white one he had found in the Mystic Caves, and the green one he had found in the hidden palace of minerals and crystals.

"You have _two_ Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic practically squeaked as Tails handed them over to the hedgehog.

"Yeah! I found the white one in the caves, but then Eggman shot his Chaos beam at me and it hit the emerald and knocked me into a hole. I think the different Chaos energies of the emeralds can't mix, at least when they're pure." Tails paused and watched Sonic frown at the two emeralds in his hands. "I found the green one in the hidden crystal place below us." The fox quirked his head and looked worriedly at his amplifier. "Wait, shouldn't you know the emeralds were here? Oh no, is the amplifier not working?" The fox pulled the device off his wrist and opened up its backing to double-check his work.

Sonic took a deep breath and sighed out, "Nah, keed, I'm sure your amplifier is okay. The emeralds just aren't letting me know where they are right now."

"They can _do_ that?!" Tails incredulously asked, staring at the jewels as Sonic placed them in his quills for safekeeping.

"If you tick them off enough, apparently," Sonic grumbled to himself. He glanced at Tails and smiled, shaking his head. "It's a long story, bud, but we can still track with your screen, right?"

"But doesn't Eggman have something that hides his emerald?"

Sonic avoided eye contact when he replied, "Not anymore, he doesn't."

Tails was curious but opted to ask questions later. It was pretty obvious the hedgehog wanted to avoid the subject. "Oh, okay." He closed up the amplifier and turned it back around to check the monitor. "Yeah. He's here, somewhere northwest of here."

"'buttnik said he had plans to complete … but what?" Sonic seemed to speak to himself, his eyes scanning upwards. Tails followed his gaze, the endless expanse of giant cogs, moving rails, and gyrating mesh columns tirelessly working.

The metal green floors were grated and numerous, spanning the length and height of the huge plant. Contrasting turquoise columns provided the support structure to its impressive stature. While it technically was one completely open space, the illusion of levels had been created by the green railings crossing it at different depths. Tiny copper elevators—large enough to transport one robot at a time—connected them, and between it all was the machinery, loud and large and continually moving.

Beyond the stark green and turquoise metal, however, the robotics throughout the rest of the plant were a grimy brown, covered in oil and grease as they churned away. The place was working overtime, and yet no product (robot, alloy, or doomsday device) could be seen, at least not since Tails had found his way inside.

"Sonic?"

"Hmm?"

"The equipment in here is used to make something really big," Tails quietly stated. "You don't need something this big to make badniks." He glanced around, searching the far ends of the buildings, even though it was impossible to really see anything. "I don't see what he could be making, either. Shouldn't there be storage for it?"

"I know, buddy," Sonic agreed. "Egghead definitely has something up his sleeve."

They walked along the platform, past the workbench Tails had been utilizing, and used the tiny elevator on the far end to go up to the next level. Giant turning cogs clicked as they rotated on a chain, which slowly moved along a belt that extended to more turning cogs, dipping down and out of sight across the factory.

The cogs were easily large enough to climb, and happened to be near the next green railing. There were other walls nearby, grated and climbable, but they also happened to have about a half dozen starfish bots that Tails did _not_ want to go near. Those things were terrifying.

For a robot, they were pretty one-dimensional: self-destruct upon target acquirement and send its five legs flying into the air. But those projectiles were aerodynamic and lethally sharp. Tails had nearly been hit twice with them before reprogramming his crab bot to help karate-chop them out of the air.

"All right keed, I know you said your tails feel better, but let's conserve that energy this time, okay?"

Tails nodded.

Sonic got beneath one of the giant cogs, waiting. At the opportune moment he jumped, grabbing along the edge of a spoke and letting the machine do the work of climbing. As it went up he held out his free hand to Tails, who ran up and jumped to grab it. Once the spoke rounded the top the duo stood, pulling themselves up onto the next railing.

A mantis robot was quick to see them, disconnecting and throwing its knife-like arms at them with excellent precision.

Sonic shoved Tails to the side to avoid the arm blades, jumping over them just as they flew past. He must have already had some experience with mantis bots, because he knew to duck and avoid the boomerang effect the detachable arms had. Tails suspected the knives were magnetized to the rest of the mantis bot.

The hedgehog spindashed as soon as the blades came back around for a second go, jumping over them before they returned to the robot and using his own quill blades to slice the green mantis in two.

He jumped one last time to avoid the arms as they clattered to the floor. Smiling, he turned back to Tails, who was only starting to stand from his seated position on the railing.

"Piece of cake," Sonic declared, that cool grin never leaving.

Tails smiled back, about to say something, when he noticed the looming creature behind the hedgehog. "Sonic, watch—!"

With a heavy punch, the crab bot came up and hit Sonic in the back, sending him flying towards Tails. Sonic instinctively curled into a ball and Tails yelped as he jumped to the side of the railing, terrified of being on the wrong end of Sonic's spines.

The crab bot, not satisfied with just one punch, came crawling after them. As Sonic bounced a couple times from the hit, Tails flew up and over to the crab's backside, jumping up into a ball and slamming into the bot's main chassis. The motion pushed the robot into the ground, giving the fox enough time to quickly find its hidden panel and yank a bunch of wires out.

The machine spluttered and died, halting in its advancement.

Tails scrambled back over to his friend, who was now prone on his back along the railing.

"Sonic, are you okay?"

"I really, really, _really_ hate those crab bots."

The hedgehog pulled himself back up to a standing position, but cocked his head as he looked above them. "Hey, Tails?"

"Uh huh?"

"I thought that was the roof above us, but I think it's the _floor_ of something else."

Tails followed the hero's gaze. Far above them was what had originally looked like a gold ceiling. Considering the clashing turquoise and green metal throughout the factory, it had already been well-established that Robotnik had some awful decorating choices.

But as they progressed closer, the outside portholes, thick _curved_ metal, and multiple rivets along the panels suggested that this was the outer layer of something else entirely. It was so large that it was currently serving as the ceiling to this giant manufacturing plant, but it definitely did not look like it was a permanent structure anymore.

"What do you think it is?" Tails asked.

"I was hoping you could answer that."

Tails glanced back at Sonic briefly. "Well, I mean, it looks like the outer hull of a plane. But it's too big to be a plane … right?"

Sonic shook his head, making his way along the new level they were on. "I wouldn't put anything past 'buttnik these days, kiddo."

The duo traversed the length of the green railing, looking for another avenue to travel up. The columns were littered with explosive starfish bots, however, and Tails was pretty sure he wouldn't be fast enough to avoid them flying, much less flying while holding a hedgehog nearly twice his size.

They had reached an area with a lot of support beams, and some appeared to be threaded, like a giant bolt. The vertical height of the threaded beams went all the way up to the gold ceiling that maybe wasn't a ceiling, which piqued Tails' interest even more.

Along the length of those threaded beams were hex nuts, wide enough to stand on and some loosened along the lower half of their respective giant screw. Unfortunately, they also happened to be flanked by more columns inundated with starfish bots.

Whatever that gold metal was a part of, and whatever might lay beyond, was something Robotnik wanted to fiercely protect.

As they looked around, Sonic decided to jump on top of one of those large metal nuts, which happened to be settled close to the railing they were on. His head veered back as he studied the trip upwards, then—as Tails watched on curiously—he tested the hex nut by running in place.

Because it was already loosened, it was relatively easy to move. The chunk of metal followed along the path of the thread smoothly, so smoothly in fact that Sonic stopped and turned around to run the other way and halt it before it was in the target zone of a starfish bot.

He hummed, eyes following the path back down and taking a quick look at the hex nut itself. Eventually he shrugged to himself and cheekily smiled at Tails. "Wanna hear a crazy idea?"

This time, Tails sighed.

With careful positioning along Sonic's back (he had a _lot_ of quills), Tails had managed to latch onto the hedgehog as the hero readied himself on the threaded hex nut. The fox took a deep breath, once more eyeing the starfish bots silently waiting for a target to self-destruct on.

"Ready for speed, keed?"

Tails did his best to swallow his fear. "Let's do it to it!"

"Now _that's_ what I'm talking about—hang on, buddy!"

Sonic's feet started running on the metal so fast that sparks briefly flew. With a lurch they were moving upwards, the hedgehog speeding in place and the hex nut flying up the threaded beam. The starfish bots recognized their target, moved a foot closer to them as they travelled past, and exploded without mercy. Sharp triangular spears came flying from multiple directions and Tails could only hang on, shoving his face in Sonic's shoulder to avoid seeing his fate.

"Woohoo!"

Tails looked up at Sonic's delighted holler and realized they had passed the death columns. At his speed they had already moved to the top of the factory, close to the peculiar gold ceiling. With their immediate safety restored, Sonic slowed to a halt, allowing the hex nut to stop a few yards below the supposed roof of the plant.

The kit jumped down off of Sonic, standing on the giant piece of metal with him as he looked around. "I don't see a way in from here."

"Not through, no," Sonic agreed. He pointed to the far end of the building, where one more lone green railing protruded out. It was close to the gold roof and relatively short in length, at least compared to the other railings throughout the complex. "I'm thinking that's our way in."

The railing led to stairs, almost like an access to what _should_ be the roof of the place. But with how rounded the gold metal above them was, that was most likely not the case.

"Do you want me to fly us over?" Tails asked, studying the options between them and their path.

Sonic shook his head, his grin growing. "Nah keed, I'm all over this. You fly, and I'll run, in _style_."

There was an undeniable change in attitude with Sonic, Tails noted, as he agreed and flew to the edge of the short railing before turning around to watch. He had been so angry before, at … well, everything. But he was happy now. Excited, even.

Tails wondered if it had to do with him.

The hero was studying the machinery below, where a few gears and conveyor belts chugged along. With a rev in place, Sonic bolted off the hex nut and through the air, seamlessly landing on the conveyor belt and jumping along two of the giant cogs. At the top of the second one was a large tank of some kind, which Sonic effortlessly clambered up. A couple steam vents were poised on the top, their lids like pistons as they rhythmically released pent-up vapor from their containers.

Sonic seemed to have the timing down to a science, because he jumped on one just as it let loose, sailing high into the air, ricocheting off another one, two, three columns, before landing gracefully on the edge of the railing Tails stood on.

To add flair he bowed, and Tails couldn't resist clapping.

"All right l'il bro, straight ahead?"

Tails was thrown, once again, from the rare word he thought he had heard from Sonic on Hill Top. "Bro?" he asked.

Sonic grinned and shrugged. "Yeah, you know, brother? Hermano? Kin?" He mussed the fur on top of Tails' head again, causing the kit to giggle and pull away. "Seems like a good nickname to me."

"I like it," Tails admitted, smiling. He looked back at his wrist, checking the amplifier to answer Sonic's earlier question. "Yep, the emerald's straight ahead, and close."

The hedgehog turned around and both he and Tails studied the path of the railing. The stairs ahead were tall, but not vertical, and seemed to lead to some hidden level next to the questionable gold ceiling. In fact, the real ceiling—a navy blue metal—could be seen in the distance, proving that this was some kind of contraption overlaying nearly the entire span of the factory.

And if it was a ship, as Tails had guessed from its aerodynamic shape, then it was most likely what the giant manufacturing plant was in the process of producing.

"This is a trap," Sonic stated, eyes never leaving the stairs. He paused, contemplating something, before looking back at Tails.

"The Tornado is on the beach, north side of the island."

Tails was shaking his head, but before he could say anything Sonic added, "_If_ things go south in there, Tails, that's where I want you to go—okay?"

The kit paused, but eventually nodded. "I'm not leaving you, Sonic."

"I know bud, and I'm not asking you to." The hedgehog turned around, beginning a determined pace up the stairs. "I just got a bad feeling about this."

Catching up to Sonic to follow beside him, Tails asked, "Are the emeralds telling you that?"

"…Maybe."

Up the stairs led to the end of the gold ship, which was most definitely what it was now that Tails could see some depth to it. In fact, the stairs they were on were next to a large window peering into the contraption, possibly the cockpit or command center of the thing. Inside was too dark to see anything, though.

"Hey Eggy, hope you didn't have plans for that refinery."

Tails jolted at Sonic's voice, turning around to see a large observation deck ahead of them. The length of the room had the true exterior walls—navy blue metal with stark red piping—but at the far end were giant windows, bringing in the rays of the pending sunrise.

Had it really been a whole day since they started their trip in Hill Top?

Partially blocking that path, hovering in his mobile, was Robotnik. Cloudy, somewhat translucent orbs swirled around him in a dizzying pattern, almost like floating ghosts. They were nearly the size of Tails but seemed weightless with their lithe movements. The doctor didn't seem to have any other added reinforcement or contraptions attached to his eggmobile.

…and what refinery?

"Ah, Sonic, we meet again. And look, you found your little pest, too. If you were cats, I'd imagine you all would be down a few lives."

Sonic crossed his arms. "Same back at you, Egghead."

"Touché." Robotnik briefly glanced down at his controls, his smile growing. "Wow, and my scanners are picking up _all _remaining six Chaos Emeralds! Bravo, Sonic the Hedgehog, bravo."

Tails frowned. There was something off about this whole situation. He looked back again at the nose of the ship, peering into the window to see if anything was visible. There appeared to be some kind of shape in the center of the large cockpit, but it was heavily shadowed.

A quick glance at the staircase they had come from revealed a heavy metal door suddenly blocking their path. Tails hadn't even heard it shut over the natural hum of the giant warehouse. Regardless, they were trapped.

"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't get too close, Sonic. These spheres wallop a punch."

The fox turned back around to see that Sonic had braved a few steps closer to the doctor and his weird floating weapons, if that was what they were. Despite being relatively protected by the shapes, Robotnik was making sure to hover high, away from opportune spindashes.

Sonic seemed to debate his next steps, but ultimately stayed put, hands going to his waist. "Well then, why don't you let me take that yellow emerald off your hands and we'll be on our way, hmm?"

Robotnik let out a heavy sigh. "You know, I feel I may have gone about this all wrong. We've been chasing each other all over this island, hoping for the advantage, and—really—I was just not prepared for your little friend over there."

The doctor's unreadable expression shifted to Tails, causing the fox to freeze. Memories of the Mystic Caves came flooding back and, while it didn't seem like Robotnik had his Chaos weapon online anymore, the fox still felt chills running down his spine at the thought of dodging one of those beams again.

Sonic, still a few feet ahead, stepped in front of Tails and blocked Robotnik's direct sight of him.

Robotnik waved his hand dismissively, as if he had no intentions of doing anything. "I thought I was ahead of the game. I had built a tracker, but then so did he." He offhandedly pointed to Tails again before motioning expressively to his eggmobile controls. "I had even found a way to magnetize the Chaos energy, a difficult concept on its own, and then you just went and used _dark_ energy to accomplish the same feat." He pointedly glared at Sonic again, even as the hint of a smirk pulled up beneath his mustache.

Sonic's hands had already come down to his sides and angrily pulled into fists at that remark. Tails had apparently missed a _lot_ while they had been separated.

The doctor looked to Tails again. "_You_ exploited my network to gather intel of multiple zones," he accused, then turned his head back towards Sonic, "and _you_ found ways to tap into the Chaos energy for your own benefit.

"After all, I'm sure neither of you got out of those other areas without sustaining _some_ injuries."

His mobile moved to the center of the room, high above the duo. As he flew the spheres adjusted their trajectory smoothly, staying within orbit without issue.

"The endgame was, of course, to acquire all seven Chaos Emeralds. But then I realized, I didn't need _possession_ of all the emeralds."

Robotnik's hand came up to one end of his mustache, twirling it. "I just needed them in the same room."

One of the spheres instantly deviated from its orbit around Robotnik's mobile, flying through the air towards Sonic soundlessly. The hedgehog easily dodged out of the way with his speed, but the sphere—like the Chaos beam—tracked his path and turned sharply, seemingly unhindered by the laws of physics.

The translucent orb soared _through_ Sonic like some kind of apparition, circling back around in a fluid motion and—Robotnik?!—was suddenly coming towards Tails.

Tails jumped out of the way, watching as the eggmobile and Robotnik—a ghostly replica of the two, anyways—phased through the large cockpit window. With a bright flash Tails could see the yellow Chaos Emerald inside, on a pedestal, glowing brightly as the sphere was absorbed into it.

The light of the emerald flowed to some wires connected to it, then dissipated and died, returning the cockpit to its former lightless environment.

Sonic had fallen to his hands and knees. Tails rushed over to him, even as he heard Robotnik laughing. "Sonic!" he cried, his hands grabbing the hedgehog's shoulders. "Are you okay?!"

The hero was breathing heavily, his face grimacing in pain. "Yeah, I'm … okay. I feel like I got the wind knocked out of me."

"Oh ho ho, one down—six to go!"

Tails' mind was working overtime. He had glanced up at the evil doctor when he spoke, realizing he was about to release another orb.

Seven orbs. They moved soundlessly, which meant they weren't mechanical. They flew effortlessly, even. Something happened when they flew through Sonic, and then they were … a projection of Robotnik? Some sort of trigger to show that they had accomplished their task? This had to be the work of Chaos energy. The spheres flew like energy and left Sonic tired….

No; _drained_.

"Siphoning!" Tails yelled the word out, his mind working too fast for his speech.

It was too late. Another orb had pulled away from its orbit, careening at the duo like it was magnetized to them. It probably was, if the two Mobians were teeming with Chaos energy like Robotnik had suggested.

Tails didn't know what else to do, so he shoved Sonic out of the way at the last second. The sphere flew through the kit and he felt like someone had sucked all the air out of the room.

"Dammit, fox boy!"

"Tails!"

The kit collapsed onto the ground, his mind fuzzy and his body so heavy. His namesakes had started hurting again, like he had used them too much. He had been drained of Chaos energy, energy that had healed his tails, made him stronger, and had been a part of his lifeforce.

Hands grabbed at him, pulling him off the floor and towards a wall, sitting him up against it. "Tails, speak to me!"

Sonic. Tails had to tell him. "Sonic, they're taking … Chaos energy." His mind was focused now, but his body was still reeling. He looked up to see Robotnik studying his controls.

"Well, not ideal, but it did get a sizeable amount out of you," the doctor stated. Tails blinked up at him, trying to focus. The mad scientist was still high up, staying away from the duo. He was hiding something, but what?

Sonic suddenly zoomed away and Tails turned his attention back to ground level, searching for him. He was feeling slightly better, but it was slow. He wasn't sure if the emeralds were helping him, or if the natural Chaos energy of the atmosphere was slowly returning to him. If Sonic had been right and Chaos energy flowed everywhere, then perhaps he and Sonic had not only more to give, but the ability to take more, as well. After all, Tails had spent the last year with a purple emerald that had given him the energy needed to learn to fly.

"ARGH!"

His eyes widened at Sonic's painful cry. Tails saw him keeled over and watched two more spheres-turned-holograms fly to the yellow Chaos Emerald to deliver their absorption of Chaos energy. While the two Mobians might've had more energy to give—Sonic more than anyone—Tails worried that there was a limit. If a sphere tried to take more than what someone had to give … what would that do?

The yellow jewel, glowing brightly from the newfound energy, was attached to the ship. It was only a conduit, though, letting the energy flow into the mechanics of the giant plane. If Robotnik acquired enough, he'd be able to power it.

Tails needed to break the glass and get to the stone.

Energy was returning to him, but it was agonizingly slow. Tails pushed through the heaviness and stood up, making his way over to the cockpit. How could he break the glass?

"Oh ho ho Sonic, it doesn't matter what _type_ of energy—the spheres will take it all!"

The fox had made his way to the window, but turned back to see another projection fly past him and phase through the glass like it wasn't even there. He looked to Sonic and saw dark blue, almost black ribbons forming around him, similar to the blue force shield he'd seen by the lava pits.

But this was no force shield. Sonic was lying on his stomach, hands and face clenched in pain. The hedgehog slammed his fist onto the ground in frustration, fighting through _something_.

Tails rushed over to him.

"Sonic!" he exclaimed, kneeling on the floor and both hands coming to rest on the hero's shoulder. The hedgehog recoiled from the touch.

Up close, Tails could see that Sonic's wound—the one he'd gotten in Emerald Hill, by the Chaos beam—had returned. It was open and bleeding profusely along the floor. His pristine blue fur had even turned an ashy blue-gray. Sonic had lost so much Chaos energy, even with six emeralds in his possession. _Why_ weren't they helping him?!

"Tails … _Tornado_," he grunted out, breathlessly.

"I'm _not _leaving you," Tails reiterated. The blue-black smoke or energy or _whatever_ it was had grown. Tails shook his head, hands coming back to Sonic's shoulder, even as the hedgehog tried to pull away again. "It's okay, Sonic—the energy will return to you. They're an endless battery source, remember?" Tails bent down lower, trying to see Sonic's face as the hedgehog curled inwards. "The emeralds will help you. You're the hero! And I'm okay, I'm feeling better already."

That was a half-truth, as he was still feeling like someone had tried to smother him, but the energy _was_ returning.

"I know you said the emeralds cut you off, but maybe … maybe they just need you to show them how strong you are," Tails thought out loud. "They don't give their power to just anyone, right? You have to be _special_."

Another sphere flew through Sonic, ignoring Tails completely. He wasn't the one teeming with the energy anymore, or the one in possession of six Chaos Emeralds. The fox cringed as it tore through Sonic's very essence, helplessly watching as the hedgehog visibly shook from the loss and the projection shot away, taking the energy with it.

But, with a twinge of hope, Tails saw that the dark magical smoke had dissipated significantly. The emeralds in Sonic's quills glowed faintly, barely visible beneath the blue blades.

"Come on, big bro, you got this," Tails encouraged, unsure if Sonic was even still listening. "You were born for this, right?"

The final sphere of seven, one for every wavelength of Chaos energy, came flying through Sonic, even as he managed to pull himself up on his hands and knees. The emeralds hidden in his spines shined brightly now, hopefully returning to him the energy that had been stolen.

As the last sphere flew to the yellow Chaos Emerald, Sonic stood up, glaring at Robotnik before flashing Tails his renowned smirk. "Nah, li'l bro: _we_ were born for this."

In a flash he was gone, Tails barely having time to turn around before seeing Sonic pinball between the walls, his speed unmatched as he found the height needed to attack the eggmobile. His first two hits knocked it out of balance, sending the mobile spinning. His third hit came from up high and barreled the eggmobile into the ground with a lurching crunch of metal. The contraption skidded along the floor before slamming into the far wall, smokey entrails seeping out of every torn section.

There had been no yelling or cursing, however.

A loud hum reverberated beneath Tails' feet, even as Sonic approached the mobile. The kit turned around to see the yellow Chaos Emerald still aglow within the cockpit of the giant gold ship, the wires below it also luminescent.

"He isn't here!" Sonic proclaimed. "How is that possible?!"

The humming became a heavy vibration as engines flared to life. The floor beneath the duo began shaking like an earthquake.

"It's 'cause he wasn't in it!" Tails hollered back. "It was a hologram!"

"What?!"

Tails ran up to Sonic, even as the ship behind them began pulling upwards. The floor tilted and the stairs they had taken into the room crumpled from the heavy form shifting. "He's piloting the giant plane—he used the hologram as a decoy!"

Sonic glanced at the nose of the ship, where the yellow emerald still glowed brightly. "Son of a—"

The giant plane pulled free of the plant, sending their entire floor buckling. Sonic grabbed Tails' wrist and bolted towards the end of the observation deck. The glass of the tall windows had already shattered from the shifting structure, so the duo easily jumped through one of the empty frames and made their way across the large terrace that overlooked the northeast side of the tiny island.

Both Mobians turned around to see the giant golden airship pull away from the manufacturing plant that had produced it, its massive boosters firing with enough ferocity to give the huge plane the lift it needed to ascend.

The tops of the giant factory, at least those parts that had somehow hidden the massive plane in the guise of rooftops, were pulverized by the ship's takeoff. The large deck Sonic and Tails retreated to was on a separate framework, but even it veered dangerously from the airship's movements.

"What do we do?" Tails asked, nearly breathless at the sheer _size_ of the ship taking off.

"We stop him," Sonic answered simply. He glanced back at Tails, smiling, and the fox realized the hedgehog's color had returned to him. The wound that had reopened on his side was closed up again, with only some dried blood caked on his fur. Peering up, he saw the hero with that familiar gleam in his eyes: the one that _enjoyed_ the fight. He was back.

"With what?" the kit still had to ask, watching as the ship travelled farther and farther away.

"How's your piloting?" Sonic asked, his grin growing.

* * *

Note: Yay, the chapter that started this entire story, hence the cheesy title drops. :)

Also, a special thank you to WhatIsThisDefiance for their continued reviews, support, and typo superpowers!


	13. Sky Chase and Wing Fortress

_Sky Chase_

* * *

The wind rushed against his face, his quills quivering from it. The six Chaos Emeralds housed within those spines were safely nestled, however, and there was no worry of them being shaken loose.

After all, this wind was nothing compared to his running.

Sonic sat atop the upper wing of the Tornado, letting his sidekick pilot the biplane and give chase to Robotnik's massive airbase. While, in a pinch, he could probably squeeze in with Tails inside the cockpit, he had a feeling that the airship they were following wasn't going to be that easy to board.

The emeralds hummed, an eternal strength rolling off them and a readiness for things to come. Sonic found an undeniable comfort in feeling their presence again, and that temporary loss of connection had told him that it wasn't just them he was recognizing; it had been _all _Chaos energy.

As Robotnik's Chaos orbs had flown through him, Sonic was only able to feel a loss of stamina and focus. Despite Tails telling him it was actual Chaos energy being drained, Sonic hadn't believed him. Without the connection to the emeralds, it was no different than just being zapped of your own … essence, essentially.

But then the anger resurfaced. Tails had risked his life and taken on one of the orbs, having his own energy stolen, and Sonic felt a resurgence of hatred for the doctor and the lengths the madman would go to accomplish his plans. Sonic had quickly put distance between himself and Tails to protect the kit—and to prevent him from pulling a stunt like that again—but not before that dreaded voice returned.

_Coward._

_Gutless._

_Some protector you are._

While the dark energy had been easy to release, harnessing it was another matter entirely. Even as the spheres continued to drain him, and the world became tunneled, all he could hear was that _voice_, antagonizing him to take back control of the Chaos energy being siphoned from him.

Presently, the hedgehog glanced down at his charge flying the biplane, a look of determination set across the fox's features. It was Tails' own voice of encouragement that had brought Sonic back to reality. With it, the hedgehog had found the strength to cut out all the _noise_ and stop letting the hate and fear consume him. The emeralds' energy returned, then, first in trickles, and finally in a rush of pure power, life, and drive coming back to him.

But it hadn't just been pushing away the anger that was required. In its place had to be ambition and purpose ... a _reason_ to fight.

His original fall into darkness had stemmed from failure: failure of protecting Tails. He suspected the kit's reassurances were the only reason he had been able to successfully ebb that same hatred that had resurfaced.

The fox had also become a huge part of that commitment to fight, too, Sonic realized.

Tails had said it took someone special to control the Chaos emeralds; that they had to be strong and prove themselves. He had been right. But as he glanced once more at his sidekick, Sonic was pretty sure that it wasn't _his_ sorry blue hide that was the special one.

"Sonic, look!"

The hedgehog saw the fox pointing and followed his finger's path. Up ahead, at the tail of the airbase, were a multitude of black dots getting larger. The rising sun from the east was laying heavy silhouettes on everything, making it hard to discern exactly what it was that was heading their way.

At their speed, however, it didn't take long to make out the glistening metal of enemies coming in for an attack. Sonic stood up on the top wing, keeping a wide stance for balance. "Keep her steady, Tails—I'm on it!"

The fox gave Sonic an incredulous look when the hedgehog glimpsed back for confirmation. "Okay," he finally replied, though without much enthusiasm.

The squadron was upon them within seconds. What at first looked like rockets became bloodred bird robots, flying towards the Tornado with their sharp beaks and bodies meant for dive-bombing. Three of them arrived first, in a V formation, and aimed directly for Sonic. The hedgehog jumped at the last second and the birds soared past both him and the biplane. Another set of five, however, were shortly behind the first group.

They split, two heading at Sonic and three heading for the Tornado itself. The hedgehog jumped just as Tails banked down to avoid the assault. With a spin, his quill blades tore through one of the birds that would've otherwise pierced through him. As he sliced through the metal he tried to gauge where the biplane had gone, but when he looked below he didn't see anything except the dark blue of the ocean.

He stopped spinning and began to fall, his heart leaping into his throat. Another glimpse in front of him showed more robots coming, but none as fast as those rocket birds.

A frightened yell was about to escape from Sonic's mouth when, from behind him, the Tornado flew by, smoothly catching him on the top wingspan, and only the hint of a stumble from the unprepared hedgehog.

Tails pulled the Tornado up immediately, pressing Sonic into the wing and forcing him to grab at its edge as they climbed at a diagonal. He steadied the aircraft shortly afterwards, but quickly shouted out a warning call of, "Hang on!"

Sonic didn't have time to respond. Looking ahead, he saw multiple large turtle robots—probably as large as the body of the Tornado—blocking their path. But if flying turtles weren't enough, smaller turtle bots were stationed on top of the larger ones, firing thermal projectiles.

Because why not?

It was the thermal balls that Tails had to avoid first. Sonic saw one whiz by his head before Tails pitched sideways and down a hundred feet, pulling up the other direction. They lifted, went under and around two of the turtles, came back up again, and suddenly barrel-rolled to avoid another set of four. Sonic had belly-flopped onto the wing during the roll, gripping the edge and at a loss for words over Tails' aerobatic maneuvering.

As the Tornado levelled out, Sonic stood back up and the turtles—in their relatively slow pursuit—had already turned around and began firing on their tail. Sonic knew his biplane didn't have the equipment to detect hostility from the rear, which forced Tails to zigzag in the air, doing his best to look back and try to gauge the direction of the incoming fire.

"Tails!"

The fox peered up at him.

"Loop-de-loop?" Sonic questioningly instructed, adding circular hand motions in case the wind ate away his words. The kit had already rolled the biplane successfully; would it be a stretch to assume he could loop it longitudinally, as well?

Sonic felt the aircraft lurch before he saw Tails nod. The Tornado pulled up high, forcing the hedgehog to grab the edge of the wing again as he lost his footing. They climbed vertically and Tails pulled all the way back, putting the biplane upside-down and going the opposite direction, over the turtles.

The hedgehog let go, gravity taking over and sending him falling. He aimed and pulled into a ball, landing on the first mini-turtle and crumpling it. It fell off the side of the larger turtle, allowing Sonic to land on its large shell and plan his next move.

He grinned and jumped, taking out the remaining three in a fit of mini explosions and screeching metal. Without a pilot, the large turtles slowly started descending to the ocean below. Sonic stayed on the last one as Tails brought the Tornado back around and under, giving the hedgehog an easy jump back onto the top wing. He couldn't shake the enthused grin plastered on his face.

They sailed effortlessly for a few moments, Sonic watching the pilotless turtles nosedive into the endless blue beneath them. Returning his attention to his sidekick, he exclaimed, "Tails, how did you learn to fly like that?!"

"I told you—books!"

Sonic shook his head as he looked back at the fox. "No, keed, that's piloting. How did you learn to _fly_ like that?"

There was a pause as Tails tried to understand the question. Eventually he shrugged. "I guess it's not much different than with my tails. A little slower on the reflexes since it's, um, bigger because it's a plane, but the same idea. I think?"

Shaking his head again, but still smiling, the hedgehog turned his sights back to the approaching airbase. Tails had pulled up high and they were finally nearing the top. Finding someplace to land, however, was going to be difficult, to say the least.

There was a cacophonous boom, like the sound of the world's largest engine backfiring, and the giant ship began gaining altitude. Just as Tails had begun lowering along the top of the airbase—most likely trying to scope out potential landing areas—he was forced to pull away, veering to the side to avoid a collision with the golden beast.

"He's getting too high!" Tails yelled out, Sonic watching the edge of the ship skirt by their left. The biplane wasn't meant for high altitude travel, and gauging by the distance below them, Sonic was guessing they'd already climbed one, maybe two miles in the air.

"Incoming!"

The biplane lurched again as more red birds dive-bombed the aircraft. The airbase was steadily accelerating and rising as Tails pulled back behind it, climbing after it but at a slower pace.

An explosion in front of them startled both Mobians. Tails quickly dove the biplane under the burst of fire in the air, pulling back up immediately afterwards to keep gaining altitude.

"What was that?!"

More eruptions echoed behind them, as if in answer to the question. Sonic glanced back and saw a few rocket bird robots exploding in a confetti of metal shrapnel. He followed the source up and saw circular bots hovering above them, dropping tiny spiked bombs. They appeared limited in range, only dropping their bombs straight down when triggered. They did not seem to care, or (more likely) be aware of, the friendly fire they were wreaking on fellow robots.

His gaze followed the long line of them, however, and he sullenly realized the biplane was in the target zone too late.

"Above us!" Sonic hollered. Tails looked up and saw the incoming explosives. He reacted and yanked the Tornado to the left to evade them, but at the cost of altitude. The bombs appeared to only detonate upon contact, falling through the air like deadly hail as the fox deftly dodged their attacks. Once they were out of their firing range, Tails pulled back into a steep climb.

Sudden blasts of laser fire, beams as large as oxygen tanks, barreled past them. Robotnik was throwing everything he had at them as they neared his airship.

"Sonic!"

The hedgehog glanced back, seeing Tails point up high. "Up there!" He followed along with his eyes and spotted the scaffolding the kit saw. It jutted out along one of the many levels of the airship, most likely a part of the construction framework that had still been attached to the monstrous floating base during its creation. While it was reachable, there was no way the biplane could land on it.

"Get close enough and we'll bail!" Sonic declared, yelling to be heard over the roar of the air.

The lasers were equally loud and hissed as they zipped past. Tails had to tilt the biplane back and forth in quick bursts to avoid them, all while climbing closer and closer to their determined boarding zone.

A laser beam flew to the right, forcing Tails to tip left. Another close beam came from the other end, low, and Tails tried to tip right. The laser was lightning fast, however, and the plane was turned too far to pull back quick enough. With an ear-piercing shriek of metal, the beam grazed along the side of the fuselage and under the lower wing, a trail of smoke erupting in its place as the biplane shuddered from the hit.

Its altitude climb slowed as the smoke grew. Sonic tore his eyes away long enough to see the gantry almost within jumping range.

"Sonic!"

He turned back to his name call again just as Tails threw the amplifier to him. The hedgehog caught it, confused.

"Flip the switch on it when you're close to the last emerald!" Tails yelled, his voice fighting the airstream.

Sonic frowned and shouted back, "What?! What about you?!"

"I'll find you!"

The hedgehog hesitated, looking at the amplifier. "We don't need the plane!" he argued.

This time Tails shook his head. "Yes we do! Go! I can't get higher!"

The metal bridge was to their left now, just barely. The Tornado was smoking heavily and was losing its height by the second. Sonic still hesitated; he didn't want to leave Tails behind.

His boarding zone pulled up even more, almost out of reach.

"Bail if you need to!" Sonic yelled back, making his decision and snapping the amplifier back on his wrist. He gave one last look back at Tails, waiting for acknowledgment. "Promise!"

Tails nodded. "I'll find you!" he reiterated. "Good luck!"

Sonic took a deep breath, yelled "You too, l'il bro!" and took a running leap off the left side of the wing. He grabbed along the lattice work, barely, and swung from both the wind and speed. He grunted and pulled himself up onto the metal framework, instantly searching the skies for the Tornado.

The biplane was far below now and had turned around, smoke still escaping from its left side. The enemies that had been released—the birds, the turtles, and the weird circular hoverbots—were far out of range and did not appear to be giving chase. The laser fire seemed to have stopped, as well.

The hedgehog still felt a pang of worry as he watched his sidekick leave in the damaged aircraft. He was only reassured by the fact that Tails could both fly and swim on his own, so even if the Tornado couldn't make it, the kit should be able to escape easily enough.

He looked back down at the amplifier on his wrist and smiled.

Time to end this, once and for all.

* * *

_Wing Fortress_

* * *

Ivo watched the security camera footage carefully, his eyes minutely squinting as the hedgehog bolted down the gantry and onto the Wing Fortress.

There was no doubt that the blue furball would make it across the airbase and to the command center. Even with stationed Clucker badniks and multiple built-in cannons protecting the surface, he knew the rodent would zip through it all like he was taking a leisurely stroll in the park.

Pressing a couple buttons, the monitor blinked and new footage showed the view from the tail of the fortress. In the distance the speck of a biplane could be seen retreating, a trail of smoke lining its path. A part of Ivo was both annoyed and relieved that the fox would not fall victim to his next planned attack. He had accounted for flying foxes, this time around, but intelligence was always a more complex trait to anticipate.

Regardless, his plan was in motion and he would not fret over it any longer. The siphoning spheres had taken enough energy to power his Wing Fortress, his rocket ship, his newly improved Chaos beam, _and_ his most prized weapon.

He just needed to make it into space to get it to work effectively.

Flipping back to the flight path monitor, he adjusted the fortress' trajectory and began the computerized countdown to space entry, ensuring the ticker remained visible on the screen. Everything else was automated and would require no further intervention, which gave Ivo ample time to prepare for what he considered to be the final battle.

All assumptions had been made, but erring on the side of caution. He had anticipated the hedgehog to board his airbase (check). He anticipated the hedgehog to make it to the command center (pending).

And he anticipated the hedgehog to escape his concentrated Chaos beam (also pending). While it would be a pleasant surprise to be proven wrong on any of those assumptions, he was prepared for their inevitability nonetheless. Like he had told himself in the Mystic Caves, he would _not_ take any more chances.

The trap was set for the Chaos beam. His hope was to stall the hedgehog long enough to get his rocket ship into space. If he could make it into orbit, his invention would work flawlessly … provided the rotation of the main sector created the precise amount of artificial gravity he needed.

Better check those calculations again, just to be sure.

Another scan confirmed that all seven Chaos Emeralds were on the fortress: one with him and six with the spiny rodent. His siphoning spheres had been ingenious but limited: he would, eventually, need physical possession of those emeralds, one way or another.

He opened a file in the database, triple-checking his work. A side-glance at a pop-up window showed that a motion detector camera had spotted the hedgehog near the base of the fortress, close to the boosters. Ivo smiled ruefully as he upped the airbase's speed.

Assumptions didn't mean you had to stick to the plan, by any means. And no one said you couldn't have a little fun at the other's expense.

The boosters' flames flared angrily on the monitor.

* * *

Sonic had never jumped across monkey bars faster in his entire life.

Of course, he could probably count on one hand how many times he'd _ever_ done it, but at the moment it seemed pertinent only because the giant exhaust flames from the boosters decided to explode with angry fury.

He hadn't wanted to clamber across piping dangling over a whole lot of zilch, but meandering across the outside of a giant airship did not provide a lot of options. He felt the heat lick against the top of his head, panicked, and threw himself to the next metal handlebar faster, using his momentum to swing across like a caffeinated Tarzan.

"Hot hot hot hot _hot_!"

The timing was impeccable enough to conclude that Robotnik was very aware of a hedgehog stowaway, but Sonic was more interested in the railing in front of him, a beautiful flat grated surface that was nice and far away from the giant roaring of fuel combustion.

With a final heave he was on top of the rail, but withstood the urge to actually bend down and kiss it. Rubbing his raw hands together to urge the circulation back to them, he took a long look ahead and above to plot his next course.

A short ladder led back up to the main body of the airship, but it happened to be stationed next to some extraordinarily large propellers. They seemed to be spinning at a doable pace, enough to climb past without much issue. He would bet all six of his emeralds, however, that their speed would change the instant he was next to one, considering his luck thus far.

Beggars can't be choosers, though, and—again—there were not a lot of other options when you were miles above the world. Shaking his hands in preparation, Sonic bolted over and climbed the ladder as quickly as possible.

_VWOOM_

"Aaagh!"

Murphy's law had nothing on him. Despite his best attempts at speedily climbing the ladder, along with his best attempts at gripping the ladder rungs like his life depended on it, the insanely large propellers accelerated with perfect timing. Their burst of wind pushed the airbase forward and sent Sonic plummeting backwards along the side of its giant cabin, the hedgehog releasing a shrill that would definitely not classify as baritone.

It was like being stuck in a wind tunnel, except with the added fun of painfully colliding into metal walls on occasion. He bounced once, rolled, grasped an edge of something that broke, bounced some more, and then finally tried to steer himself by spreading his arms and legs like a feral flying squirrel. That managed to reward him with a teeth-grinding belly flop onto another railing, skidding along its metal surface until his hands managed to grip at its framework and stop his reverse motion.

"…Ow."

He slowly stood back up and took a cautious glance around. Along the side and top of the airship was a network of construction scaffolding, lacing around the main body and obviously broken in some places, a reminder that it was only the remnants of material that had been used to create this monster of a fortress.

Of note, however, was a long steel lattice column, a lever at its base and a crane hook dangling next to it.

Sonic grinned and ran over, throwing the lever and hitching a ride along the hook that began rising. The support beams were tall, allowing the crane to pull up well beyond the surface of the airship. The hedgehog sighed, however, upon seeing the enormous fin in front of him. He had traversed (and monkey-barred) below the airship to avoid the fin's wide base and the group of built-in cannon guns lining its periphery, but his brief and involuntary attempt at flying backwards had apparently botched that plan.

One of his feet rested on the hook as he determined his next move, causing it to sway from the surrounding wind speed.

He paused, studied it, and then purposely swung with the wind, the crane cable moving freely and widening its path. One of his brows lifted in consideration.

Well, he had already compared himself to Tarzan once today.

He swung some more, forcing the crane to smoothly oscillate back and forth, farther with each push of momentum. With enough of an arch, he could get on top of, or maybe even clear the ship's massive airfoil.

Of course, he hadn't anticipated the support structure deciding to collapse right then. Either his weight or the swinging of the crane was too much of a burden to bear and, just as Sonic reached the lowest point of his swing, the latticework tilted. He waited until he was as at the apex, jumped as the entire structure started falling, and still felt gravity pull him down far sooner than he'd hoped, right into the side of the fin and three cannon guns.

There wasn't much time to yell, or even curse, but Sonic did manage to grumble in agitation as he rolled into a spindash and sliced _through_ the side of the airfoil to slow his descent towards the guns. The metal screeched from the attack, leaving a nice torn line marking Sonic's path downwards. He pushed off the fin before he came in contact with the weapons, instantly zooming around the latter half of the base and internally screaming at the fireballs he could feel singing the tips of his quills.

The cannon guns were limited in range, firing as far as they could before the neighboring cannon gun picked up the running hedgehog target and continued the assault. Sonic rounded the front, accidentally bulldozed through an unsuspecting chicken robot, tripped, and then skidded between another set of three.

There was the sound of explosions and sharp tings of metal hitting metal. Sonic gritted his teeth as he came to a stop, quickly pulling himself up and turning around to face the new assailants.

His defensive stance loosened shortly afterwards, however, and his arms fell to his sides. Apparently, the cannon guns had fired on the remaining chicken robots, and the chicken robots had fired on the cannon guns, leaving a rather sizeable mess of smoking debris littered across the top of the ship.

"Take that ... everyone," Sonic concluded. He wiped his hands free of imaginary dust, glancing around and noticing that he had finally made it to the front of the airship. The large fin had blocked it off from the rest of the fortress' body, which most likely explained the amount of weapons and guards in the area. The hedgehog perused the rest of his surroundings and found only more dilapidated construction scaffolding, leftover pieces of Robotnik's quick departure from his metropolis factory. With the chicken robots and cannon guns destroyed, the front of the ship was left eerily quiet.

Looking down he saw a hatch, lonely in its position along the flat surface of the airship, and only a few paces ahead of him. Since this was the front of the giant flying base, that most likely meant the hatch led inside to the command center.

He waltzed over and surveyed the area again, finding his approach unhindered. He raised an eye ridge suspiciously.

That suspicion grew when the hatch opened without issue. Below was a hallway, narrow and dark and barren.

"Because _that's_ not foreboding," Sonic commented.

He hopped down inside, his feet lightly clanking against the metal floor and sending a low echo along the length of the tunnel. To his right was a solid steel door that was closed. To his left was a lightless path.

With a resounding _click_ a lone light at the long end of the tunnel turned on, revealing Robotnik against the far side of a room, in some sort of viewing chamber. He was too far away to see it, but Sonic could practically feel the smirk on the madman's ugly mug.

"Hello, Sonic."

"Heya, Eggy. Another trap?"

There was a long pause before he replied, "What do you think?"

Sonic shrugged, glancing once more around the tight hallway. "I think that I'm getting a little tired of this merry-go-round."

_vvvvvvwwwwwww— _

The hedgehog's ears twitched, both from the sound and the breeze that wafted behind him. A look back confirmed that the steel door had opened to reveal a giant fan, not unlike the propellers along the outside of the ship.

_—wwWWOOOOOO—_

The sound grew and the breeze was more like a storm gust. Within the tight confines of the tunnel, it didn't exactly leave Sonic a lot of places to retreat.

_—OOOOOOOMMMMMM_

The amount of wind in such a tight place was a lost cause for traction. The hedgehog grasped at the wall, then clawed at the floor, and inevitably found himself in the air, flying and grazing the walls like a ragdoll before landing roughly in the empty room. A heavy bang alerted Sonic of some sort of door closing off the hallway, and a sudden hum vibrated the emeralds in his quills, the telltale signature of Chaos energy enveloping his senses. A weary peek upwards showed that Robotnik still loomed over him in his tiny observatory window.

Sonic pulled himself back to his feet, dramatically trying to crack his back. "Dude, 'buttnik, you could've just _invited _me to come over_._" He managed to get a good look at exactly what had entrapped him and saw a thick wall of yellow energy. Another hum vibrated behind him and he saw the same yellow appear in front of the wall where Robotnik was stationed.

"Oh wow, a blocked-off room with two—" he paused, noticing the giant dome-shaped crystal above him, "—no, _three _lasers! Wait, scratch that, you gotta be all fancy and do Chaos beams now, right?" Sonic grinned at the doctor, his arms crossed in front of him.

Even through the yellow translucent haze of the beam, Robotnik could be seen shaking his head exasperatedly. "Do you even know what a Chaos beam _is_, rodent?"

Sonic shrugged. "Well, I've gathered I shouldn't touch one. Seems to be working out for me so far."

"Honestly, I have to wonder where we would be in this game of charades, if it wasn't for the _brains_ of your operation?"

Sonic pretended to think about it, a curled finger on his muzzle as he studied the ceiling. "You bring up a really good point, Eggy, because if memory serves me right _you_ got outwitted by those brains, too."

Before Robotnik could respond Sonic snapped his fingers and added, "I'm gonna have to go with the swamps, though. Yeah, definitely the swamps." He produced a fake, sympathetic smile before adding, "It's totally cool though, no one expects _you_ to be good at puzzles."

The doctor crossed his own arms defiantly. "I could've easily found that emerald given time, or simply taken it by force. After all, it's a balance of strength and wit, is it not?"

The hedgehog eyed the borders of his cell. "Maybe, but, big fat yellow Chaos beams? And what about above? A _moving_ big fat yellow Chaos beam? Gonna have to give you a C+, 'buttnik. You've upped the power, for sure, but originality is kinda lacking."

Robotnik smiled wickedly. "Oh, but Sonic—don't be so quick to judge."

The crystal above buzzed, glowing and brightening before flashing a giant white beam onto the ground below. Sonic stayed clear of its path but felt the heat even from his cautious distance.

"Since Chaos beams don't merge well with the stones, I opted to go back to the old 'tried and true' _lasers _you love so much."

The beam shut off suddenly, but not without leaving an endearing scorch mark along the floor. The sound of a hiss caught Sonic's attention and he looked up to see floating spiked balls hover into the room from seemingly nowhere, moving about aimlessly but with sharp ends pointing out of all available angles.

They bumped along the roof, floors, and walls like quick, lethal bubbles, and Sonic was forced to jump, duck, and run to avoid them.

"I had accounted for flying foxes this time, but they'll be a great added challenge for you, as well, don't you think?" Robotnik ruminated, resting his head in one of his hands and his elbow propped up along the control panel.

He suddenly stood up straight and clapped once. "Oh, almost forgot—"

With a press of a button the sound of scraping metal could be heard, the borders of yellow energy suddenly inching closer to the hedgehog on either side.

The walls were closing in.

"Countdowns sure do build tension, don't they?" Robotnik excitedly remarked.

The white laser turned back on, blocking a decent portion of Sonic's available floor, the floor that also happened to be getting smaller by the second. The solid beam of destruction moved along the ceiling in straight lines, randomly changing direction to prevent any pattern deductions.

Between it and the flying spiky balls, Sonic was using every ounce of coordination he had to not wind up on the wrong end of either.

"Okay, okay, Eggface—I'll give you a B-!"

Sonic bounced along the walls perpendicular to the beams, which were thankfully nondescript, unlethal metal. The solid yellow beams reverberated in his senses, but he was smart enough to understand that even _he_ couldn't handle concentrated Chaos energy of that magnitude.

And, well, the white laser definitely needed a "Do Not Touch" sign on it. The hedgehog jumped and nearly landed on a spiked ball, throwing himself to the floor at the last second to skid into the metal base of one of the Chaos energy walls. Despite it steadily shrinking, the room itself was tall, and even with two of the four walls touchable, Sonic was unable to get enough speed to reach the mouth of the laser to try and damage it. There was no available ledge to ricochet off of, either; the floating spiky balls of death moved fast enough to stab _him_ easily enough, but not fast enough to get embedded into a wall.

He had about six square feet of running room now, Robotnik laughing in the background, and a whole lot of plan to hatch if he was going to get out of this alive.

_"_—_different Chaos energies of the emeralds can't mix, at least when they're pure_—_"_

_"_—_Chaos beams don't merge well with the stones_—_"_

The memories echoed in his head, causing the hedgehog to take pause in his actions and nearly get impaled. He brought back his focus and jumped to the side before the spikes touched him.

_"_—_knocked me into a hole_—_"_

Tails had been hit with the Chaos beam, but it had hit the emerald and knocked him back. Pure energies don't mix.

And he just so happened to have six pure energies to try out.

"You know, you're right Robotnik," Sonic called out, swinging around two metal spike balls and narrowly avoiding the white pulsating heat of the main laser. He stopped abruptly next to one of the yellow walls, glancing up at the source of the white beam.

He looked back at Robotnik and pulled out the purple Chaos emerald.

"It's all about a balance of strength," he held the gem out into the energy field, "and _wit_!"

The sharp angle of the stone redirected the energy like a mirror, sending the yellow beam into the mouth of the white laser. The sheer amount of concentrated energy exploded upon impact, the laser fading away as its power source disintegrated against the assault.

Sonic hollered out, the pain from holding the jewel within that kind of power stream nearly knocking him back. He held his ground as long as could, though, and as soon as he saw the laser fade he fell back.

His gloves were burned from the heat and his body felt like it had been electrocuted, but Sonic managed to pull himself back up just as the giant pedestal of the laser fell to the floor and shattered. The hedgehog turned back around and glared when he saw that Robotnik was no longer in his little observatory window.

The beams of yellow Chaos energy had faded away, another sign that Robotnik had retrieved the jewel and was most likely making his escape. Sonic jumped over the base of the wall beam and rolled up, spindashing into the window to break the glass.

He landed inside and saw another long hallway, along with a heavy steel door lowering just ahead. Sonic wasted no time and bolted, sliding along the floor to get under the gate before it shut with a rumbling bang.

The architecture had suddenly changed. As Sonic stood up and looked around, he noticed that the structure around the hallway seemed … _heavier_. The floor shook beneath him and the sound of engines roaring made it hard to hear anything else.

And then sheer _force_ pushed him to the floor. Sonic yelled out as he fell to his hands and knees, then eventually to his stomach, as the g-forces increased intensely. He felt like he was stuck to the metal like glue, all other senses dulled by the deafening sounds of boosters enveloping his very being.

Minutes later the force of gravity subsided, the engine sounds died, and Sonic pulled himself back up on his hands and knees...

...and started floating.

He scrambled, his hands and legs kicking uselessly as he unsuccessfully tried to right himself to a standing position. Instead, he went upside down, like he was in slow motion attempting a flip, and a wayward thought made him wonder if this was how ridiculous he looked when he tried to swim. Thankfully he was still alone in the hallway, the area beyond too dark to make out anything.

As he made his sluggish gymnastic move, Sonic noticed a tiny porthole to his right, along the length of the hallway. He pathetically tried to swim over, failed, but managed to get his feet on the ceiling. He bent his knees and pushed off the steady surface, weightlessly flying over and grabbing the lip of the window frame so he could steady himself before peering outside.

The world was below him, a harmony of bright blue, brown, and green with tiny patches of white from clouds. The curvature of the planet was visible, with the endless black background beyond.

He was in space.

* * *

Note: Could not for the life of me make two full chapters out of these levels, lest I be redundant. Ah well. I also apologize for any butchering of terminology related to flying and/or aerial battles. It is Sonic's POV though, so I'm gonna call limitations there. Nothing quite like a fall guy.

Guest Autumn: thank you for your kind words! They are very appreciated. :) I'm terrible at this fanfic etiquette, but am trying to be better!


	14. Death Egg

Note: A warning in advance that this chapter stretches the limits of the K+ rating for violence. I tried to keep it minimal, but didn't want to sacrifice the plot, but then also didn't want to bump the rating to T, and so here I am, rambling and warning you in advance (again). If there are concerns, please let me know and I will definitely bump the rating up.

Also, epistemophiliac = excessive striving for or preoccupation with knowledge. That is all. :)

* * *

_Death Egg_

* * *

A very low rumbling started. It was smooth, not unlike an engine, but definitely different than the ship's boosters that had brought Sonic into space. The floating hedgehog checked out his surroundings, unable to discern the source.

A familiar hum reverberated through his spines, distracting him. He glanced at the amplifier on his wrist and realized that it, as well as the six emeralds he had, told him the yellow Chaos Emerald was here, and very close.

He returned his attention to the area. Glancing back through the window, he did a double-take when he noticed he couldn't see the planet anymore. His hands gripped tighter to the lip of the porthole, pulling himself closer so he could check all angles, but with a hint of panic determined it was no longer below him.

The motorized hum increased, but still wasn't loud. He turned back to look at the hallway and a flash of brightness disturbed his peripheral vision. Looking back through the window, he caught only a glimpse of the planet before it went up and away.

Sonic frowned but kept his gaze dutifully on his sole viewpoint. The planet swung by again, faster.

His feet, dangling in the air and nearly parallel to the floor, began to lower.

Bewildered, the hedgehog watched with fascination as the world below seemed to spin around him, faster and faster until his feet were suddenly back on the floor. The weight of his body returned, and with it the stomach that had been in his throat finally settled. Feeling a bit more like himself again, Sonic realized that the world wasn't spinning—the ship was.

And yet, glancing back along the dark hallway, it didn't _feel_ like they were spinning. Shouldn't he be pressed against the wall or something, at this speed?

He sighed. His walking encyclopedia wasn't around to help explain things to him.

His immediate surroundings were dim with minimal lighting, but he noticed that the gold alloy of the giant airship was still a part of the framework here, darker in color and thicker in design. It clashed nicely with the absurd black-and-yellow striped floors one would be more akin to see on a crash dummy. With the steadiness of the motor that was most likely spinning the ship, it seemed like power was being restored to it, as well. Down the hall some lights started clicking on, one by one in a methodical fashion. They illuminated the hall, some more hall, the end of the obnoxiously long hall, and finally a large, stark room beyond.

Despite matching the gold metal of the airbase, the thick portholes and detailed structures of the area were clearly designed with a different intent. If the hedgehog had to wager a guess, this part of the aircraft had disconnected from the rest of the giant airbase, probably as a smaller piece that was rocketed into space. The remainder of the fortress had continued on its path within the atmosphere, then, though where it was going or what it was doing was a more concerning question.

A lingering thought did remind him, however, that Tails was going to try and return to that airship to find Sonic.

The yellow Chaos Emerald suddenly disappeared from his senses, startling the hedgehog enough to make him step back in shock. He did his best to hone in on it, but found nothing in response. Unless the doctor had decided to turn over a new leaf and jettison his most prized possession, Sonic had to assume that he had built another device to mask the gem's location.

Sonic had no idea why this chase led him into space. When Robotnik had said endgame, this wasn't exactly what he imagined. He glanced once more through the porthole, an uneasy feeling settling back into his stomach as he peered out and saw flashes of the literal world from orbit, while he somehow stood in a spinning spaceship.

The last time he checked, Mobians couldn't breathe in space. That meant, in some warped way, Robotnik had finally succeeded in trapping Sonic, though the hedgehog would never let the madman know it.

"Oh ho ho, enjoying the view?"

The voice was coming through a speaker, somewhere from within that giant room ahead. The doctor was probably hiding in another viewing chamber, out of the path of true confrontation.

Sonic nonchalantly shrugged. "A little high for my taste," he responded to the bodiless voice. He zipped over and into the room, stopping within its center and nearly rolling his eyes when his guess proved accurate: Robotnik was stationed behind a long wall, watching through a circular window that looked a lot sturdier than the one he'd been in before.

"Ah, but Sonic, we are neither high nor low. Out here, the universe is directionless."

"Getting philosophical on me now?" Sonic snarked. "But fine, I'll bite. Why are we rotating in space, exactly?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Robotnik smiled. "Because _you_ are an anomaly."

"Uh … thanks?"

"Your speed and agility go against the laws of physics. Motion, thermodynamics, gravitation … you've broken each of them at one point or another in our encounters. In that essence, Sonic, I _may_ be a fan of yours, after all, but only in the way a scientist admires their lab rat."

A steel wall came down from the ceiling with a hiss, blocking off the hallway Sonic had come from with a dull thud.

"Each encounter has been recorded with you and studied, dissected down to every jump and rotating ball formation—"

"What? No no, that's called a _spindash_," Sonic objected and slashed his arms in the air. "If you're going to be obsessed with me, at least get the moves right."

Robotnik paused momentarily, that smile never leaving his face. Yet another engine purred to life from up above, causing Sonic to glance around the top of the room cautiously.

"Countless prototypes have been designed and failed, unable to mimic in metal what you do with flesh and bone and _Chaos_ _energy_," Robotnik continued. "Even your mutant friend caught on to my training course below the casino."

An expression of disbelief and disgust crossed Sonic's features. "That gaudy slip 'n' slide was a _training _course? I hate to break this to you, Eggy, but just 'cause you're movin' fast does _not_ mean you're working out."

Along the length of the ceiling, out of sight, the engine sound became louder and began to travel. A hint of orange caught Sonic's eye, but the darkness shrouded the area too well to make out anything.

Robotnik ignored him and continued his monologue: "The floors and ramps were designed for speed, which counteracted the weight problem—"

Sonic snickered. "I'm sure your knees thanked you for that mini vacation."

"—_BUT not completely_," Robotnik's voice raised, anger dripping from it even as he refused to acknowledge the wisecrack. "Your trip through the course proved that friction was essential for those quick changes in direction."

Sonic's attention returned to the roof as the engine sound started along a different path. Still halfway listening, he chided, "You needed a training course to figure _that_ out?"

"Trial and error, hedgehog. Out of all the principles, gravity was my biggest hindrance, and the one obstacle that could not be so easily neutralized."

From the far end of the room, within the shadows, a huge hedgehog robot descended with the help of two small jets on its feet. The orange fire burned and hissed against the shiny silver alloy of what _looked_ like Sonic, if he was twice as big and made of unforgiving metal.

It landed on the ground with a soft thunk, its jets reorienting themselves before the creature's feet hit the floor. Where the whites of its eyes should be was solid black, aside for beady red irises that locked on the real Sonic objectively.

Sonic's mouth barely hung open as he stared back, the only inkling of reaction that he provided to the madman.

_Madman_; the word had never rang more true to Sonic at that moment, as he gaped at his robotic doppelganger.

A low chuckle arose from Robotnik. "_Mecha Sonic_, here, required an indestructible, heavy alloy, which unfortunately weighed him down. The training course provided the illusion of weightlessness, which allowed me to finalize his remaining characteristics. But, in the real world, he was incumbered by gravity."

The giant robot effortlessly started spinning in place, its form folding into a perfect sphere with razor-sharp spines encompassing its metal skin.

"In space, of course, gravity can be _controlled_."

Mecha Sonic bolted forward and Sonic jumped out of the way at the last second. He managed to clear the robot and then some, flying a lot higher and farther than he was used to.

Only a trace of a yelp escaped Sonic's mouth as he tried to gauge his landing and skidded lightly across the floor, his arms floundering in an attempt to keep his balance. Apparently, the lesser gravity had an effect on _him_, too.

He turned back around to see that Mecha Sonic had unrolled itself and was facing him, its small boosters flaming behind its heels.

"You know, this whole thing is kinda of creeping me out, Eggface," Sonic breathlessly commented, his eyes never leaving his metal wannabe. The robot shot forward with its jets suddenly, almost as fast as the true hedgehog. He dived to the side and _felt_ the closeness of Mecha Sonic's spiny blades.

Scrambling back up, Sonic cheekily added, "I will have to say you might be my first stalker, though!" The hedgehog charged at the robot, spindashing and aiming for the front, where the (literal) quill blades were scarce.

He slammed into it, his spin slicing along the metal and sparking, but with no visible damage. The decrease in gravity had taken away the weight of his spindash, making it less effective. Sonic jumped back and stumbled, shaking his head from the resistance that he had unexpectedly met.

"Oh, but Sonic, you have no _idea_."

Mecha Sonic rolled back into an orb again and shot forward, blades out and slicing within their fanned-out placements along the bot's head and back. It charged forward and Sonic jumped.

The robot's sphere form jumped, too.

"AGH!" Sonic half-howled and half-growled, trying to throw himself in a different trajectory in midair. One lucky blade managed to slice a chunk of Sonic's shoe off as he fell back to the ground.

The hedgehog landed on his back and got the wind knocked out of him, sliding along the floor until he hit a wall. Like déjà vu, a weary gaze upwards showed Robotnik peering down at him through his circular window, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"So let me get this straight," Sonic panted, slowly pulling himself to his feet and watching his metal replica unroll and turn back towards him. "You took us to space just so I can fight your _prototype_?" He inspected his foot, which was thankfully unscathed. The piece that got sliced off appeared to be the sole, near the toe, but was otherwise still functional footwear.

He blinked and Mecha Sonic bolted for him again, forcing the hedgehog to zoom away. The robot slammed into the wall, making even Robotnik temporarily retreat from his safe perch beyond the porthole. The bot pushed off the wall and charged again.

Robotnik let out his signature laugh, the sound crackling against the speakers. "Defeating you is only phase one, rodent."

The robot was nearly as quick as the hedgehog, turning around and getting back into its metal version of the spindash. While Mecha seemed to be limited in his styles of attacks, Sonic was still having trouble anticipating the quick moves. There weren't any patterns that he could identify because, by all accounts, it appeared like the bot was studying his actions and learning from them.

He dodged the ball of spikes and waited until the robot unrolled itself before attempting another offensive, this time near its torso. He put all of his force into his forward momentum, managing to shove Mecha Sonic back against a wall, where the real hedgehog's spin could have a stronger effect.

It worked, sort of. This time some of the metal casing bent and cracked from Sonic's assault. But it wasn't enough; it wasn't even close to enough.

Mecha turned on his jet packs suddenly, shooting upwards and forcing Sonic's spin into the wall before he could pull back.

Sonic grounded to a stop, kneeling on the floor to catch his breath and let the dizziness subside. The sound of metal chinking nearby warned him and he dived to the left, barely escaping another hit by his replica.

With both Sonic and the robot's speed, the area they were in was suffocatingly small. Like a dance on fast forward, Sonic would round the far end of the room and Mecha Sonic would either charge forward or perform a spindash. Sonic, in turn, would narrowly dodge the attack and bolt to the other side of the room, where the dance would start anew.

Mecha was getting better each time, though, and Sonic was running out of steam.

"It's over, Sonic!" Robotnik practically cackled. "I will acquire all of the Chaos Emeralds, one way or another!"

"Hold up," Sonic called out, putting distance between himself and Mecha, "so that's phase two? The emeralds? Shouldn't that be, like, phase one: part B?"

Sonic managed to catch Robotnik's glare at him as he jetted past, making the hedgehog's sassy smile grow.

"_Phase two_, you irksome creature, is using those emeralds to power what will be the largest Chaos beam in existence. One cannot easily fight an enemy in space if they do not have the means to get there, and there will be no time to try if I can knock out a city with one press of a button!"

"Oh," Sonic gasped and snapped his fingers, his attention still directed at his silver clone. "I bet phase three, then, is to become emperor of the world!" He ran and dodged again, sliding along the floor. "Every respectable villain's M.O., right? Or wait, maybe that's phase two: part B... It might be good to write this stuff down somewhere."

Mecha Sonic spindashed, Sonic leapt, and—deviating from its previous forms of attack—some of those slicing quill blades shot out of the robot's shell. They flew like throwing knives, in every direction with the robot's rotation, and the real hedgehog was unable to avoid them all.

Sonic cried out, a guttural and distorted sound, before falling to the floor in a tumble. His hands instantly went to his right foot, where one lone quill blade had lodged itself about halfway into the top of his shoe.

Robotnik shouted along with Sonic, but his gleeful cry had quite the opposite tone. "He has _all_ your moves, Sonic, except with the added advantage of _indestructible_ metal, oh ho ho!"

The large doppelganger powered down in front of Sonic, awaiting its next orders.

Sonic hissed and clenched his teeth, his hands gingerly touching the embedded blade while warily watching Mecha Sonic in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he quickly yanked the triangular projectile out of his foot, a sharp but brief holler escaping before he could stop it.

Blood began to seep from the top of the shoe, staining it. The hedgehog breathed through the pain, slowly standing up and testing the amount of pressure he could comfortably put on it.

"And phase three will be _you_, rodent," Robotnik gloatingly corrected. "I'm sure your remains can provide me even more insight into your connection with the Chaos Emeralds. Call me an epistemophiliac, if you will."

Sonic balked. "A _what_? Dude, Eggman, that's gross. Let's keep the rating suitable for kids here, please." He kept his voice light, even as he grimaced with the weight he was placing on his foot. The white band on his shoe was almost all red, now.

The offending weapon, tinted with blood, was still on the floor. Another quill blade lay a few feet to his left. He glanced at both of them and back to the robot, still staring blankly at Sonic.

Robotnik's voice was eerily chipper when he replied, "That'll be impossible with the _violence _you are about to be subjected to."

Mecha Sonic's jets started up.

"Indestructible, huh," Sonic mumbled to himself. He bent down, his right hand reaching out to grab the metal quill closest to him. He grunted as he straightened up, glancing at the other blade along the floor.

The robot pulled into a spiked sphere again, revving in place.

"One final ball of destruction!" Robotnik hooted. "Good riddance, rodent!"

Sonic's free hand stretched its fingers. He took a steady breath, keeping most of his weight shifted to his left side. He gripped the quill blade with its sharpest point facing outwards, his own blood still staining its tip.

"For the last time 'buttnik, it's. _SPIN. DASH_!"

Mecha shot forward and Sonic darted to the left, swiping up the other blade along the way. The spiked sphere curved in the air, anticipating Sonic's movements, but the hedgehog jumped back and slid under the robot, zooming the other direction.

The blue speedster circled around, fighting through the pain in his foot. Just as Mecha Sonic unrolled, the real hedgehog held the metal quills out and began spindashing.

He'd never spun with his arms out before. After a few precious seconds of preparation, his arms ultimately ended up being awkwardly sandwiched within the spines, while the two metal blades were exposed and gripped tightly in his hands. They were gripped so tightly, in fact, that he could feel them cutting into his skin, but he didn't care. He sliced out at Mecha Sonic with the robot's own weapons, _hearing_ metal cutting metal and the blades penetrating his replica as he spun.

He had no idea if it was working, but he couldn't keep going. He was losing focus, both from exertion and the pain in his foot. His spinning slowed and he quickly sped away, afraid to linger too close to the robot. Braking his run near the far wall, he turned back just in time to see Mecha jump at him with his own spindash.

"ARGH!"

More quill blades were shot out and Sonic was unprepared. He dived and rolled, but one of the quills sliced his left leg, below the knee. He tried to stand back up to run, but the cut had been deep.

He fell to the floor, growled, and forced himself to stand, yelling through the pain. The sound of jet packs alerted him and Sonic turned around, both hands still holding the metal quills.

One hand was up high and one hand was low, the sharp points of the blades held out in defense. Mecha Sonic collided with him and the real Sonic held his ground, bracing himself as best as he could.

He was no match for the weight of the doppelganger that was twice as big as him. His ears were deafened by the sound of boosters flaming, metal crunching, electricity discharging, and the out-of-place squeaking of Sonic's sneakers as he skidded backwards along the black and yellow floor.

There was only so much space in the room. As disoriented and exhausted and drained as Sonic was, he was quick enough to realize Mecha Sonic was about to crush him into a wall. The blades Sonic had used to protect himself were lodged into the robot now, even as they careened across the floor, so Sonic used them as leverage, pulling himself up and over the giant bot.

He flipped over Mecha Sonic and landed roughly, rolling along the floor as a giant crash exploded behind him. Eventually he stopped on his stomach, blearily looking up to see a dilapidated robot face-first in the side of the ship.

It sparked, joints protesting as its hands came up and braced against the wall. The metal barrier creaked and groaned before releasing an ear-piercing shrill as Mecha Sonic extracted itself from the heavy paneling.

Sonic tiredly pulled himself up into a sitting position, but was unable to stand. Red streaked the floors and walls around him, leaving a visible trail of his actions during the fight. His right shoe and sock were soaked, now, but he was more concerned with the heavy slash in his left leg. The wound had made him unable to bear weight on it, anymore. A wave of dizziness washed over him, the world momentarily spinning until he closed his eyes and shook it away.

He was losing a _lot_ of blood.

A glance at the viewing chamber showed that Robotnik was no longer watching. Where had he gone?

Mecha Sonic, successfully free from his collision, turned around. A small smile appeared on Sonic's face when he saw one metal quill blade completely wedged between the robot's eyes, with the other quill blade stuck in its torso. Both areas sparked dangerously, and the piercing red irises of the bot grew and shrank oddly, most likely the result of a dying mainframe.

An inkling of something tingled, and Sonic realized the yellow Chaos Emerald was housed inside Mecha Sonic's chest, where the quill blade had damaged the casing that had been masking the stone's whereabouts.

The robot, despite its obvious damage, still attempted to skate towards Sonic. The boosters on its heels fired and sputtered, ultimately failed, and Mecha Sonic rolled a foot before stopping, its eyes fading until they were completely gone.

"I am impressed, Sonic. Truly."

The voice was coming through speakers again, but Robotnik was not in the viewing chamber. Sonic searched the room, only narrowing his sights when he heard a heavy bang on the far end. Another dome-shaped glass pulled up out of the floor, Robotnik's face barely visible within it.

And then the dome—and what it was attached to—began lifting.

Out of the floor rose Robotnik's own doppelganger, a horrendous version of the scientist in weird circular shapes and thick armor. His torso was a giant black-and-red metal sphere, the legs were slightly smaller orbs with heavy triangular feet, and a giant jet pack was adorned to its back.

The face was even weirder, with a red nose, a painted-on mustache, and eyeglasses that were the actual window within the dome-shaped head.

"Geesh, Eggman, you're giving new life to that nickname," Sonic finally said, visibly cringing at the grotesque contraption.

"Perhaps I should embrace it more willingly, then," Robotnik replied, his giant replica booming as its feet stomped forward a few steps. "After all, 'egghead' is slang that denotes intellectual superiority, and that is something I _unequivocally_ possess." He chuckled to himself, making the hedgehog roll his eyes.

"Except for art, 'buttnik. That thing can't even pass as abstract."

One of the arms of the robot suddenly moved, the portion resembling a forearm pulling away from the body and aiming at Sonic. The hands of the robot were nothing but lethal spikes, their sharp points aimed directly at the hedgehog's location.

"Your fate is sealed, rodent. You are incapacitated and, with one flip of a switch, you will soon be _de_capitated, oh ho ho ho!"

_Flip the switch_.

Sonic's eyes widened as Tails' words echoed in his head. He had forgotten about the amplifier. But what would it help now? He knew where the yellow emerald was, but he couldn't _move_. Even if he did try, there was no way he'd be able to get to the gem in time. Robotnik's monstrosity of a robot was seconds away from annihilating him.

And yet something was _urging_ him.

"Any last words, Sonic?"

Sonic flipped the switch on the amplifier.

A hum surrounded him, his fur standing on end. The amplifier sparked with electricity, startling him.

He could feel each wavelength of Chaos energy, separate but unified in their powers and completely immersing him. Even the yellow emerald was a part of it now, despite being far on the other side of the room and stuck inside Mecha Sonic's chassis. The other emeralds were in his possession, but the yellow one … the yellow one's energy felt like a physical tether to Sonic. The amplifier had somehow magnetized his connection with it. If he could just get a little closer, maybe—

Mecha Sonic's metal suddenly creaked and the damaged paneling opened slightly. Stunned, Sonic honed in on the energy again and mentally _pulled_ the stone to him, through that weird magnetic field.

Its metal cage creaked and bent more.

Sonic grinned.

"I actually do have some last words, 'buttnik," the hedgehog answered pridefully to the doctor, one of his hands reaching up towards Mecha Sonic. "I would like to remind you that you were really, _really_ unprepared for my sidekick."

The casing completely bent on Mecha Sonic and the yellow Chaos Emerald broke free, shooting towards Sonic's outstretched hand.

Robotnik yelled out and fired the arm of his robot replica, the forearm detaching and shooting forward like a rocket.

An eerie calm settled over Sonic, his quills pulling up into the air like they were full of static electricity. The yellow emerald shot towards his hand, even as he saw the lethally sharp fingers of the robot's arm sailing towards him.

And then both objects collided with their Mobian target and a brilliant golden light enveloped the room.

* * *

_"How—"_

_"—control—"_

_"Chaos—Guardian—"_

Bits and pieces of dialogue were filtering through, like tuning to a hard-to-reach radio station. He could listen, if he wanted to, but Sonic was having trouble keeping his attention in any one place for long, simply because everything was so amazingly _detailed_.

The scraped red paint on Robotnik's robot monstrosity. The small rivets along the paneling. The tiny scratches in the glass windshield. Even the doctor, beyond that windshield, yelling angrily at the hedgehog, his eyebrows pulled down and crinkled in obvious anger and his mustache shaking from his mouth moving or, more aptly, spitting.

Sonic himself was floating in front of the machine, an uncharacteristic golden hue encircling him. It should have been odd to know that he was floating—and, well, gold—but he had accepted it. He also accepted his entire body suddenly shooting forward like a rocket, through that same giant machine, and pulverizing every piece of metal and wiring that he came in contact with along the way. He flew back to the front of the robot, watching with amusement as Robotnik's replica teetered and smoked from the hedgehog's hit to it.

Everything felt so _vibrant_, so alive. Was he dead? If he was this was awesome, because he was obviously a golden specter that could still ruin Robotnik's plans.

Perhaps the Chaos Emeralds had drugged him. Or maybe they took him to one of those special zones, some weird hallucination or pocket dimension to hide from the grislier reality of a few moments ago. A sudden thought reminded him that his leg should be in agony, but nothing hurt. A glance down showed that the wounds and blood were gone, and instead gold, luminescent fur stood on end and wafted in the air, almost like how it would behave underwater.

Huh. That's interesting.

Robot Robotnik was looking a little worse for wear. With a hedgehog-sized hole now in its giant belly, a missing arm that Sonic was pretty sure disintegrated when he turned into … this, and its sudden odd leaning that the real Robotnik was desperately trying to correct within the tiny control station, the doctor's final metal titan wasn't exactly delivering the final battle he had been expecting.

"Hey, uh, 'buttnik," Sonic said, only a little perplexed by the slight echo now attached to his voice, "care to repeat what you said? I was totally not paying attention."

Robotnik stopped his attempts and looked back up at Sonic slowly, his head shaking in disbelief. "So you are still in there," he remarked.

"Better than ever," Sonic replied with a wry grin. "Sorry (not sorry) about Robo-butt, by the way."

"I have woefully underestimated your abilities with the emeralds," Robotnik continued, ignoring the jab and his tone nearly mystified. "I would have never given you the fortitude to create a stable Super State."

Super State? Sonic had heard the term before, in stories of the emeralds bestowing intense power to individuals. In fact, it was usually associated with the Guardians, those that swore to protect the emeralds. But he had never imagined in a million years that _this_ was it.

"Super State? More like Super _Sonic_ … oh yeah, I like the sound of that!"

Robotnik sighed. "The fact that you didn't even know what it was until now leaves me bewildered, rodent, at your ability to wield the power, much less stabilize it." Still within his damaged robot, the doctor returned Sonic's grin with one much more menacing. "But even Super States cannot be controlled for long—and, according to you, we are _awfully _high up."

The giant jet pack adorned to Robot Robotnik fired up, sending the grotesque replica into the air, despite the rest of it obviously malfunctioning. Mini bombs fell out of a side compartment as the broken robot shot upwards, the explosives humorously shaped like miniature versions of the doctor. Sonic, still floating, dodged them and the small blasts that detonated from their impact with the floor. The golden hedgehog watched with curiosity as the giant robot reached the top of the room, hovered, and suddenly came barreling back down.

With his keen eyes, Sonic was quickly able to see that Robotnik was gone. The doctor must have detached some escape pod from the robot during its momentary stop near the ceiling.

A chase could not commence, however, because the giant robot exploded upon impact with the ground, sending its shrapnel every direction and penetrating the outer hull of the space station.

He easily dodged the shrapnel, and his Super State protected him from the intense heat and shockwave that followed, but the sudden depressurization of the room pulled Sonic through one of the many torn sections of wall.

The sounds of the subsequent explosions were instantly gone, eaten away by the vacuum of space. Despite the lack of sound, Sonic could still see the battle station detonate with more tiny orange and red fireballs. They quickly disappeared as they consumed the limited oxygen, but the damage continued to spread from within, more explosions following along what appeared to be a giant, spherical spaceship.

Whatever ship had detached from the air fortress must've docked onto this massive egg of a space battleship.

The section that Sonic had been in had been rotating separately, apparently, and the subsequent blasts had forced pieces of the space station to come shooting out at remarkable speed. The centrifugal forces ended up either jettisoning debris off into space, back into the ship itself, or falling towards the planet.

Even in this super form, the uninhabitable cold of outer space began to pierce through Sonic's fur. He had no idea how he was even _breathing_ out here, but he was certain that Robotnik was correct in that this Super State would not last forever.

Memories of South Island made him hesitate leaving, however, as he continued watching the damage slowly travel through the spaceship. He had let the madman escape once before.

But Sonic was no killer. Hate and anger and vengeance had turned this power into something else, something decidedly not him. He would not go down that road again.

Besides, being gold and cocky was way better than being dark and moody.

Making his decision, Sonic shot towards the planet, avoiding the pieces of debris that had begun to burn up within the atmosphere. He was pretty sure there were a lot of names for the different sections of atmosphere, and Tails would have recited them all by now, but at the moment his focus was on the part of the world where he could breathe comfortably. Preferably stand, too.

A lightning jolt of pain in his leg startled him. He looked down and saw nothing but his golden fur, but another throb erupted from it and his foot. He was losing energy.

He had no idea where Robotnik's air fortress was, or if it was even still in the air. His best bet was to try and find land, which was remarkably hard to do when flying from space onto a planet that was over seventy percent water.

He wasn't sure _how_ he knew, since he'd been breathing this entire time, but he instantly recognized when breathable air was around him again. With a _fwoosh_ he shot through partially transparent white smoke (oh, _clouds) _and saw a giant expanse of blue below him.

A quick glance around showed no land in sight and he shot towards what his internal compass told him was west. The pain in his leg and foot grew substantially, followed by a wave of exhaustion, and Sonic offhandedly noted he hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours.

His body was drained and he was using every drop of Chaos energy the emeralds had to offer, which was nearly depleted by now. He felt the golden aura around him waning and he futilely searched below for somewhere to land.

Fleeting thoughts filtered through his fatigued, almost delusional mind. He wondered if Tails was okay, and whether he landed the Tornado safely. He wondered if the space station had completely blown up, or if Robotnik had managed to control the destruction. He wondered if Robotnik enjoyed destroying his property, because it seemed to happen an awful lot. He made a mental note that he was starving, and then wondered how many chili dogs he could consume in one meal. Thoughts of those stupid mini bombs shaped like Robotnik made him chuckle. What a narcissist. He worried whether the airship could still do damage, and whether it would continue to fly indefinitely on that Chaos energy it stole from him.

He wanted to tell Tails that it was really him that had saved the world.

He wished he could tell Tails that he was sorry for not keeping his promise.

But, as his flying slowly turned into falling, and that giant endless blue of the ocean started inching closer, Sonic mostly thought that this sucked and_—_honestly_—_was a really unfair way to die.

* * *

"Come on, come on!"

Tails was frantically yelling at the Tornado, while simultaneously checking the coordinates on his portable computer in his lap. The beacon was _so_ close, but he couldn't see anything in front of him!

The Tornado was moving faster than it ever had, thanks to the hefty booster engine strapped to its underbelly. A rather chaotic landing back in Robotnik's metropolis factory, followed by a quick use of one of the doctor's maintenance stations (those things were _tremendously_ handy), had brought Tails back into the air, searching the skies for a blue hedgehog.

It was at one of those handy maintenance stations that Tails had been able to upgrade the amplifier, too, to mimic what Robotnik's magnetic contraption had done in that weird casino course. And it had been a lot easier than anticipated: since the doctor had simply charged the Chaos energy field to create the magnetic pull of the emeralds, Tails' mind had worked overtime thinking through a way that he could make the invention smaller. Of course, dealing with electricity was never an easy feat, and adding it to what was essentially a wristwatch really should've had some time in a testing environment, but desperate times call for desperate measures. His hope was that it would have helped Sonic get the last emerald away from Robotnik, when the timing was right.

Of course, Tails thought he would have been there to assist in that opportune moment, as well.

He had also smartly decided to put a tracker in the amplifier, just in case it or the blue Mobian attached to it disappeared (again). Using his portable computer to ping its location, Tails had quickly determined that Sonic was no longer aboard Robotnik's air fortress. It was shortly after that when the signal was completely lost and, without much else to go on, Tails had begun to presume the worst.

With no one manning the large airbase, Tails had been able to at least land the Tornado and find the empty command center without incident. A quick study of the controls allowed the fox to release the stored Chaos energy inside, and a redirection of the ship's course ensured its inevitable crash landing would be in the ocean.

Despite this, he had left the airship feeling unaccomplished. He refused to stop searching for Sonic's signal, though, and kept his computer running as he made a slow trip back to Robotnik's factory island. It wasn't long afterwards that Tails' computer pinged, instantly revitalizing the fox's hope as he redirected the biplane to the new coordinates. That hope turned into worry, however, when he realized how quickly those coordinates were changing.

Sonic was falling.

As Tails pushed the booster engine to its max, a flash of pulsing yellow caught his eye, causing the little fox to squint at it as it fell. That sort of looked … well, no, how could it be?

Oh, wow, it was!

Tails pulled the Tornado down into a nosedive, getting below the falling yellow hedgehog. The kit slowly straightened out the biplane when he saw Sonic—or who he presumed was Sonic—tiredly grasp along the top wing.

"Sonic!" Tails yelled.

The yellow hedgehog stayed prone and face-first on the wing, but eventually lifted a hand to give Tails a thumbs-up. There was a small jolt of turbulence, nothing major, but Tails squeaked in surprise when he saw Sonic shift unsteadily to the edge.

Shoving his computer under the yoke in what many would consider to be the most reckless attempt at autopiloting, Tails partially climbed, then flew out of the cockpit to grab Sonic before he completely slipped off his perch.

He quickly jumped back to the body of the plane, putting Sonic down into the cockpit first and then trying his best to squeeze in next to the nearly unconscious hedgehog. The kit frowned at how the weird yellow hue of Sonic kept fading in and out until, finally, only the normal blue fur of his friend remained.

"Thanks bud," Sonic coughed out.

"You were yellow," Tails couldn't help but state the obvious.

"Yeah … Super Sonic." The hedgehog lightly giggled.

"Oh, okay," Tails replied, but had no idea what that meant. He would've probed for more information, but he was currently staring at Sonic's quills, eyes wide as the Chaos Emeralds pulled up and out of the blue spines. Sonic furrowed his brow as he felt what Tails saw, but neither made a move to stop them.

Even with the speed they were traveling in the Tornado, the Chaos Emeralds simply floated up and above the duo, brightening and spinning around them while keeping steady with the biplane's path.

And then their brightness became blinding and Tails squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them up a second later, feeling the sudden weight of something land in his lap.

He glanced down and saw the green Chaos Emerald.

The fox blinked, confused, and looked back up at the sky. The rest of the emeralds were gone. He frowned, turning to Sonic to question what he saw, but gasped at the blood that was now coating the hedgehog's left leg and right foot.

"Sonic, you're bleeding!"

The hedgehog's eyes languidly peered down at his legs and confirmed the statement with a deadpanned, "Yep."

"Hold on, we're gonna get you to a doctor!" Tails declared, turning the Tornado around and upping the booster's engine.

"Okay," Sonic calmly agreed, his head lolling to the side of the plane. "Tails?"

The little fox couldn't stop staring at the hedgehog's leg wound, but managed to look back up at his nickname. "Yeah?"

"You were right ... we totally needed the plane."

* * *

Note 2: One kinda fluffy chapter left! Thanks to all that have stuck through to the end on this, and a reiterated thank you to all that have reviewed: Leodragon678, DawnOfForelsket, Rocketwhisp, SharpDragonKlaw, Dinner, Zoggerific, kilatails, Autumn, WhatIsThisDefiance, and silverscout4117. Please accept my utmost gratitude for your motivation and feedback.


	15. Epilogue

_Mystic Ruins_

* * *

_One month later_

It had been a while since Sonic had stayed in his home in the Mystic Ruins. Six months, in fact. He had spent a lot of time there when the house wasn't his, when he was instead learning to fly and trying to adapt to a life in the spotlight.

But once he could pilot and became the official owner of the Tornado—and was relatively sure he wouldn't kill himself—Sonic had taken the biplane and flown halfway across the world to the other side of the hemisphere, to continue his hunt for the Chaos Emeralds and Robotnik among the numerous islands that resided there.

During that time and shortly after his birthday, he had even made it official and acquired his pilot's license, since the age limit for Mobians was thirteen. There was some irony in being allowed to own a plane, but not yet be legally old enough to fly it.

When it came to things like owning property, though, money did all the talking. It was all that was needed to buy the house, too, because not once did someone question why an almost-teenager was being handed the keys.

To be honest, Sonic had never pictured himself as a homeowner. It had been the result of a gift to Herb and Sue Waller, the previous owners and operators of Waller Flight Academy. The older squirrel couple had graciously taught Sonic to fly, despite having already closed down their school, and in turn the hedgehog provided them a sizeable windfall with his endorsement money, on the pretense of needing an isolated and quiet place to live.

The house itself was small, with three quaint bedrooms upstairs, only one detached bathroom, and a simple kitchen and open living space along the main floor. Thankfully, that space was full of well-used, yet charming furniture. The Wallers had insisted on leaving it, since they had some long overdue travel plans with their newfound money, and Sonic didn't put up much of a fight.

An interior decorator he was not.

Presently, the hedgehog was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table, rewrapping his left leg with a thick bandage. The wound itself had been stitched up quite well, thanks to some professional medical treatment. Mecha Sonic's quill blade had managed to slice the tendon in his leg, but the injury had not affected the real hedgehog's range of motion. His right foot had been even less of an issue, only requiring a few stitches and a couple weeks of healing.

He wasn't sure if he had the Chaos Emeralds to thank for that, or not. When they had transformed him into Super Sonic, they had masked the injuries he had sustained, but when six of them upped and scattered, he had been left practically bleeding out within the Tornado.

Of course, the genius that is Tails had flown them back to the city of casinos, carried an unconscious Sonic to the hospital, and eagerly used Sonic's credits card to pay for everything and then some.

Case in point, Sonic had left the hospital as the new proud owner of nine _baskets_ of chocolate mints. It had been ten, but one had unfortunately been consumed before the hedgehog even woken up.

News had spread like wildfire after that, and the famous blue hedgehog became even more famous, along with his new two-tailed sidekick. Robotnik's airbase had crashed into the ocean, thanks to Tails, but his space station had disappeared off radar. Tails suspected that the doctor had taken it to the dark side of the moon to hide out and repair its damages.

Unfortunately that meant that, one day, they would be faced with another reprisal of the madman.

On the bright side, Tails had at least gotten his wish granted: shortly after they returned to Mystic Ruins, television news announced that West Side Island had suspiciously been cleared of mechanical debris. The leaking oil refinery had been completely demolished, as well, and the surrounding waters were no longer contaminated with black sludge.

The Chaos Emeralds had healed the island.

Well, all except one gem, anyways. Sonic's hand absently went up to his quills, where the green Chaos Emerald was safely stored. He would never understand why one jewel decided to stay, but it wasn't like he ever truly understood the emeralds in the first place.

Rolling thunder interrupted the silence of the house, as well as Sonic's thoughts, and the kitchen window rattled lightly in response. Looking up, he noticed some dark clouds looming over the horizon, heading their way.

He quickly finished up his task, leaving the extra bandages on the table and hopping up to walk over to a door on the other side of the kitchen.

Opening the innocuous door led to a long hallway, its architecture different than that of the old wood and cozy atmosphere that made up the living quarters. Instead, it was composed entirely of a heavy alloy, with a similarly styled aluminum door on its far end.

Sonic opened it, as well, revealing what made the little house on the outside of Mystic Ruins stand out: a ginormous attached hangar, with enough room to probably fit five biplanes. In reality there was only one, the Tornado—looking a little banged up near the mouth of the warehouse—and a multitude of workbenches and toolboxes scattered along the sides of the walls. Its tall ceilings housed a lineup of fluorescent lights, giving the entire area an almost sterile feel.

Another wave of thunder hit, still distant but getting louder. The white lighting flickered, buzzing from the brief loss of electricity. Aside from it, however, the workshop was silent.

"Yo, Tails bud, ya in here?"

"Sonic?"

Sonic looked around but didn't see the source of the voice. "Where are you?"

"I-in here."

The hedgehog raised a brow in confusion as he took a few steps forward and searched the area with his eyes. The Tornado's tarp had been removed and some tools were scattered about on the floor, so Sonic walked in that direction, expecting to find the fox doing some mechanical work on the biplane.

After all, the entirety of the workshop had been Tails' belated birthday gift from Sonic.

The panel was open, exposing the engine, along with a hand lamp hooked along its edge for extra lighting. Tails was nowhere in sight.

"Li'l bro?"

"I'm in t-the cockpit."

Sonic frowned as he looked up at the pilot seat, seeing no familiar golden fur. He jumped onto the wing of the plane to get a better vantage point, only grimacing slightly from the movement.

His leg still had a long way to heal.

On the floor of the cockpit and about as far under the controls as he could get, Tails was huddled with his namesakes wrapped around his legs. He looked up at the hedgehog and gave him an anxious smile. "Hey, S-Sonic. What's up?"

Sonic couldn't help but smirk at the little fox's current position. "Doing some work on the Tornado?" he nonchalantly asked.

"Y-yeah, just uh, cleaning up some wiring in here."

"Of course. Well, I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie? Looks like a storm's coming."

Tails attempted to look surprised, but failed miserably. "Oh? I had no id—"

His sentence was rudely cut off by a flash of light and a much louder boom, indicating the storm's inevitable arrival. The fox jumped out of instinct, his head ramming against the dashboard roughly.

Sonic smiled warmly. "I don't want to intrude, though, if you got a lot of work to do."

"No!" Tails exclaimed too excitedly. He calmed his voice and quickly added, "No, I think I—I'm done for tonight. Let's go to the house."

Sonic silently offered a hand to Tails, who took it gratefully. With a small tug the fox was pulled out of the cockpit and onto the wing of the biplane, and together the two made it back into the house. The pitter pat of rain had just started to descend, echoing across the tall metal hangar and tapping against the old house's windows as they made their way inside.

Leading the fox to the worn couch in the living room, Sonic left him there while he headed back towards the kitchen to prepare some drinks.

"You know, West Side Island is awesome in the fall. It's not too cold, it's drier than usual, and there are never any storms."

Sonic smirked again as he put a kettle on the stove. "Okay, but it's still spring in West Side right now. We're in the north, where it's fall, and Mystic Ruins is kind of a rain forest."

"But we're not even _in_ the rain forest part. We're like on the outskirts, where it's cooler and more meadow-y."

"You know you just described the recipe for tornadoes, right?"

There was a pause. "Is that why they named the plane that?"

Sonic did not have an answer for Tails, and rather pondered the perplexing question himself.

Fifteen minutes later, Sonic had made two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, brought a couple blankets to the couch, and settled himself and his fox friend into the cushions to watch a rather plotless but action-laden movie. The explosions of the flick helped to drown out a lot of the rain, as well as mask the frequent bouts of lightning that was illuminating their surroundings.

Tails had practically cocooned himself within one of the blankets, with his barely exposed hands trembling as they held the mug of hot liquid. His entire side was pressed against Sonic as they watched the movie, and the total mass of fox and fabric occasionally shuddered when a boom of thunder overtook the movie's endless explosions.

As Sonic had suspected in the Aquatic Ruins, Tails' fear of thunder was no joke.

The hedgehog's own phobia of water gave him a much clearer understanding of Tails' situation, though. He had not been aware that fall in the Mystic Ruins was its peak storm season, but he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised with its location between hot and cold contrasting environments. When he had stayed in the area it had been the end of winter, so his memories included chilly winds and frostbit ground.

Nonetheless, he had already become accustomed to a new sort of routine these past few weeks.

The thunderstorm lasted about two hours, and eventually became a more reasonable rainstorm before the movie ended. Hot chocolate long gone, Sonic had leaned back against the couch and allowed the cocooned Tails to curl up next to him, his head on Sonic's lap.

As the credits finally began to roll, quiet snoring could be heard from the cub. Sonic gently scratched behind one of Tails' ears to confirm his slumber, and then debated whether it was worth lifting the fox-blanket entity to bring him back to his bedroom.

Meh.

The hedgehog made his decision final by shifting his position, comfortably leaning back against a seat cushion and pulling another blanket over his arms. He pressed a button on the remote to turn the television off, allowing the residual rain to bring a harmonic lullaby to the dark and quiet room.

If someone had told him this is what he'd be doing two months ago, he would have barkingly laughed in their face and discredited every achievement of their lives.

Funny how things change.

He glanced down at the snoring fox, barely visible in the giant mound of blanket, and smiled.

Remembering a moment that felt like ages ago, Sonic mumbled his own, "Thank you," before his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

_For everything._

fin


End file.
